From the Valleys to the Heavens
by SunMoonKunochi
Summary: So I died. Yeah, not that great. I didn't mean to though, sure I got into some fights, and sure I could be irresponsible, but I was fifteen! I did not deserve that knife to the chest. It was certainly amazing to wake up, even if you don't know where you are. Or who you are. But since I'm here I'm going to fix everything! Watch out Fiore, here comes a badass Lucy! OC reincarnation
1. Waking up and where on earth?

**From the Valleys to the Heavens**

**Hi there!**

**My name's SunMoon Kunoichi and this is my first time writing a Fairy Tail fan fiction. I have been writing two Naruto stories so they are first priority, this here is a side project for when I get bored of those. **

**I specialise in OC and Self-Insert, something Fairy Tail doesn't have much of. I'm doing the cliché of Naruto and having someone be reincarnated and all that magic. So sit back and you may enjoy the ride.**

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**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Fairy Tail, but I'm glad it's back_

**Warning: **_Language and you betta get used to it!_

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I woke up with a gasp and floundered for a moment in the sheets that seemed to swallow me up. Sitting up I held my chest as I panted _What the hell was that?_ I clenched my hands as phantom pain raced over me. Then I stopped.

Um, I'm pretty sure my chest isn't this big.

I glanced down to see my if-I-was-any-flatter-I'd-be-a-male chest, suddenly ten times bigger and a fuck load heavier. And I mean _a lot _heavier. Then I noticed my clothing for bed had changed as well, not for the better. I could feel the silkiness of the nightdress as I slowly slid out of the four-poster bed I had definitely never seen before.

The sheets untangled from me as I fell off the giant bed. Gods, my legs are not this long! They're like fricking stilts attached to my legs!

Cursing under my breath, I rubbed the bump that was forming on my head from where it had made contact with the...wow, this carpet is super soft. I've seen a lot of different hotels, motels, apartments, houses, mansions, but I had never seen flooring this lush. And I have stayed in around a hundred different countries.

Staggering upright on my baby giraffe legs, I stumbled away from the bed and into the corner of the huge, white room. Spreading out my longer-than-usual legs I stared at the _absolute_ smooth sleekness of them; also unusual. I never really had time to shave my legs, and I didn't think that it was humanely possible to get this degree of smoothness without some sort of indication that there were hairs growing underneath the skin. Huh. Humming in thought I sat in my corner and gazed at the spectacular, and grossly expensive looking bedroom.

Where was I?

On second thought, I lifted up ivory arms and poked at the soft and unblemished skin that had not a single trace of tough muscle and old scars, completely unlike my own skin.

Who was I?

In times of stress I knew that you had to stop moving, and re-evaluate your situation. Taking deep breaths I followed my own advice. Start from the beginning; _who are you and what about you_, to make sure there is no brain damage.

My name is Tiana, but my friends call me Tia - the rare few times I actually make friends long enough for them to shorten my name. I am fifteen years old and I originally came from England, but I've only stayed in that country for about three years of my life. One for after I was just born, and two recently for boarding school. My parents' jobs are to do with trade and we follow our stocks around often, moving to a different city, and even state or country, every few months. I like my little sister, galaxy bars, explosives and the occasional brawl.

Well, it seemed like I had no memory loss. _Now assess what events you can remember leading up to your current situation._

I had been in another fight. This time though, my little sister Maya had gotten involved.

I had accidentally hit one of the local 'bad boys' while we were in Mexico. Mum's side of work had been the reason we had gone there this time round; stupid trading of alcohol. She was taking a shipment to a series of countries, and we were being dragged along. Again.

We, as a family, had gone out for one last trip around Mexico at night. My parents had too much to drink by that point, I believe, to notice what was going on around them. (Can you see what great parenting I have in my life?) When Maya and I had managed to convince them that we should head back to the hotel, we had exited the back door. There my parents decided to walk ahead (again, great parenting! Leave a fifteen-year old and a eight-year old to walk behind you in the dodgy streets why don't you!). There the gang of boys had appeared, melting out of the shadows of a nearby whore house.

It had definitely been a surprise when someone tried to attack me from behind. A cheap move by an asshole. I had then turned to see a group of about seven guys standing there; they had been waiting, it seemed.

I had tried to get my sister away, but they had grabbed her. She was only eight for god's sake! I had gone into a blind rage and tried to fight back; not the wisest move, I must agree. Even after all my years of fighting, I had never once flown off the handle like that, it was mildly embarrassing, looking back on it now. While I was fighting off two at the same time, I had thought that I wasn't going so bad, it felt like I might win.

Then I saw the knife.

All I felt was a burning pain in my chest, a sense of _damn, I'm dead now,_ and blackness creeping across my vision. There was no flash of a lifetime of memories, nor even a glimpse of my sisters face before the black swallowed me up. I may have bounced when I hit the ground or simply hit it with a smack, I guess I'll never know.

But I know that I woke up, which was something that I wasn't meant to have done.

Except, it seems, however preposterous as it sounds, that I had been reincarnated.

Oh, you're probably bitching about how I had figured this whole shit out so quickly or some crap like that; but, frankly, was there anything else that could've happened, either than a body-switch? And I happened to find reincarnation rather cool, so of course I was going to choose that! I had no religion in my life - even though I had gone to a ruthlessly Catholic boarding school - but I had always thought that reincarnation was possible. Though, you were meant to not be able to remember anything. And you're to actually be reborn in a baby's body!

I cursed and slammed my head back against the pristine wall, pristine as everything else in this goddamn place.

Suddenly, fluttering golden locks fell around my shoulders. I slowly curled my hand around one and pulled it up into my vision. Such beautiful hair, I must be a china doll if this is what I look like. The hair brushed just past my shoulders, so not quite as long as my previous hair. Although it was a beautiful colour and seemed so well-kept, I couldn't help but miss my old, completely untameable, mass of black hair.

Sighing, I stood up and carefully made my way over to what looked like the bathroom, judging by the holy-white glow gleaming from the gap of the open door, complete with gilded doorknobs. Ew. I managed to open the door, gingerly fingering the golden knob, and into a place of holy goodness. I managed to look appreciatively over the large bath and shower that it held before I inched towards the wall to floor gilded mirror that took up half of one side of the room, right next to a massive basin that was meant for washing hands, but could've worked perfectly fine as a small bath. What was with rich people and size? It was offensive to all short people out there; me included!

Sticking a (god these arms had some softness to them, and I'm not complimenting the skin! Although it _is _rather soft...) hand out, I waved at myself in the reflection. I then summoned up all my courage, screwing my eyes shut to help with the important gathering of courage, and stepped into the view of the mirror.

Eyes still shut though, the courage wasn't quite enough to fill me up. I still had some fear topping me off.

"One…" I trembled slightly, _what was I going to see?_

"Two…" _You can do this!_

"Three!"

I snapped my eyes open. Large and innocent brown eyes gazed uncertainly at me, flicking long eyelashes at me every time I blinked . Blonde hair went perfectly straight down my back, but a sideways fringe sat neatly on my forehead, accompanied by long bangs on either side. My skin was smooth and unblemished, an ivory colour again. But none of that mattered, not even the fact that I looked like I came from an anime. What mattered was that I…

I was freaking Lucy Heartifillia!

I let out a small squeak before backing away from the image. Lucy did the exact same as me. I flapped my hand and she did the same. I stuck my tongue out and pulled my cheeks and she copied me.

I sighed softly before shuffling forward to rest my forehead against the mirror's glass. What was a girl to do? I stared down at my bare feet and wriggled the toes that didn't belong to me. I hummed slightly as I thought. _What was a girl to do?_

_Continue your evaluation of the situation. Begin with theories of how this situation occurred, include factors of things you actually know. Continue with speculations._

Okay, so I had obviously been killed by that knife, or I was currently in a hospital and in a coma dreaming. No, you don't dream while in a coma. So no dreaming, this is real.

_What was the situation exactly?_

So I was reincarnated and this world, which I had (just ten seconds ago) believed to be false, was actually real. I was an anime character and that meant I had to act-somewhat-like the character to not draw suspicions. Mn...maybe not. I don't think I could fit the quota of Lucy Heartifillia.

_What are the surroundings of your situation? _

This was a very fancy place, something that any Fairy Tail mage was unlikely to be able to afford. What point in Lucy's life would there be a place like this…

Wow I must be a fucking dumbass.

I am highly likely in her mansion. Also, I glanced up into the mirror again, scrutinising Luc-my face closely. The facial looked slightly younger than Lucy's in the series, not very, but not the exact same Lucy that I knew in Fairy Tail. I wasn't the chibi Lucy of six from her memories, but I also looked slightly older than my usual age. Maybe Lucy was just a more mature looking girl? No, she was too innocent.

If I was fifteen and Lucy was…I believe seventeen in the series, yeah I was about sixteen. Oh yeah! Level up in age baby!

But, Lucy was to be the opposite of the girl I am, and the kind of personality I despised. She was a girly girl, very vain, cries _way _too much, often is the damsel in distress, zero hand-to-hand skills, and she liked to wear skirts. Not my idea of a good person, but that's just the things I didn't like about Lucy.

I loved the way her mind was one of the greatest around, her tactical skills were definitely nothing to scoff at. I loved the way she could forgive and forget after someone made mistakes, although it was usually after she threw a bit of a hissy fit. I loved how she respected her spirits and the way she treated them. I loved how she was so polite when needed, but a real fireball when necessary. I loved many things about Lucy Heartifillia, but most of all, I loved her ability to love. She loved her father after all his wrongs, and she loved her mother even after all those years. She loved the adventure, freedom, kinship and heart that came from Fairy Tail.

Lucy Heartifillia _was _a good person. And I had just took it all from her.

I stared solidly into the mirror, and at….my reflection. If this was my second chance, who was I to waste it?! If Lucy didn't get to live this life, I would live it for her, and I would do everything in my power to make sure she gets what she deserves.

A family. Confidence in herself. Respect. True heart. And love for her entire being!

I grinned at my reflection, if I was going to fix it, might as well start right away!

"Lucy-sama?"

I started and whipped around to see a young girl standing in the doorway. A servant perhaps? If she was a servant, I must be polite and kind, just as Lucy.

Smiling at her I nodded in greeting, "what is it that you need?"

The girl bowed to me, "it is time for Lucy-sama to get dressed for her breakfast. Jude-sama is waiting for you downstairs and wishes to talk about an important matter with you."

I smiled gratefully at her and gestured for her to go ahead of me, "what may the matter be this time? Is it another betrothal proposal?"

The girl nodded as she opened the door to a huge walk-in-wardrobe, "Jude-sama has had another offer." She giggled lightly, "he seems….._handsome_."

I laughed lightly at this, "should I expect from your laugh another, rather grotesque specimen of a male?" As she nodded again I sighed dramatically, "what plan shall I come up this time...?" The girl giggled again before handing me a rather intricate dress, "shall I help Lucy-sama with this dress today?"

On the outside I nodded at her and she began to take off my clothes to dress. On the inside, I was screaming in a mixture of relief and slight embarrassment.

Relief at the fact that I didn't have to fuck around with the dress that looked _impossible _to get on and make a fool out of myself as I tried to fiddle around with the drawstrings and ruffles. I had worn evening dresses for functions of my parents, had learned how to wear Victorian clothes for a play at boarding school, I could easily put on a kimono and accompanying obi since I had lessons in lady arts in Japan; but this dress was in a whole other league. I also felt embarrassment at both: I couldn't change the clothes, and that the girl would basically be stripping me naked and dressing me like a doll.

How fun.

I stared straight ahead for the duration of the changing and only moved when the girl asked me to move to help her get the dress on. When she first put on the corset, it was fine, when she pulled the strings, I really thought I was going to pass out. How could people wear these things?

Moving mechanically, I continued to think over my very situation. I was right about the fact that Lucy had already had marriage proposals, and it made sense, all heirs to large companies like the Heartifillia's were often married off to create better connections between two benefitting companies. It also seemed that she had denied many, and that there was some rather…horrific ones.

I knew Lucy had run away from home, but when? All I knew was that she had run, and apparently around a year later she was in Hargeon, wherever that may be. If I was going to fix things, I should start as soon as possible. From Lucy's confrontation with her father after Phantom Lord, she must have snuck away from her home if her father didn't realise her intentions and her defiance surprised him.

Well might as well defy him now and get away quickly.

I snapped out of my thoughts as the girl stepped away and bowed, "do you need anything else, Lucy-sama?"

"Uh, no, thank you." I self-consciously smoothed down the satin fabric of the pink dress and began to fiddle with one of the ruffles. "But there is something I must do before coming down to breakfast. May you stand outside the door and wait for me?" Another nod came from the girl. "As you wish, Lucy-sama."

I followed her back into the main bedroom and watched as she exited through what must be the door into the rest of the building. I huffed out a breath before gazing around the room, what essentials did I need to bring?

First, a carry case to hold all my belongings.

I whined slightly at that, why couldn't I be in Naruto and just use a sealing scroll to hold everything? But I hunted around for any sort of suitcase Lucy had. After a while of searching I had finally found one under her bed. Real original hiding space, Lucy.

Opening it I found things already in there; so she was planning on running soon. I pulled out everything and systematically divided it into three groups: things I needed, things I didn't and another pile for unsure.

I had a few pairs of realistically, worthy clothing in my to take pile. That meant they weren't expensive or gaudy, although, I could use some stuff to barter off for money. With that thought, I took the bundle of necklaces I had placed in the pile I didn't need, and put them in a small drawstring bag that held some precious items of Lucy's. A locket with a photo of her and her mother, a blue ribbon that must've become her trademark ribbon later on, and a few pages of the book she must've began to write. It wasn't half-bad when I read over it, but it was very childish and fairy tale like. Obviously Lucy didn't know much of the harsh, true world.

Blinking out of my thoughts, I carefully placed a few more items into the suitcase and checked over what I had. I had found a large bag of jewels Lucy had saved up, and that went straight in, but that wasn't enough. I guess I would be bartering some of those necklaces off soon. I should also learn about the prices in this world. I had a lot of experience with changing currency since I did it so often, so that shouldn't be too much of a hassle.

Some toiletries were now in there, but I had thrown out the expensive lotions and perfumes. If they had dogs they would try to track me with them. I should change my scent to something either than….Rose petals? Really, Lucy, really?

I groaned lightly and began to search through draws and in places that precious things might be hidden. Interestingly, I had found a diary, something to help me portray as Lucy if there was valuable information about her in it. I had also found another stash of money behind her draws, not the best hiding place, but it had obviously worked.

Humming to myself, I packed the last bit of items neatly into my suitcase and snapped the clasps shut with a final sounding click. I then gathered up a decent sized leather bag I had dragged from a dusty corner of Lucy's monstrous cupboard and slung it around my shoulder so it rested at my hip. There was the drawstring bag in there along with half of my jewels, just in case someone tried to mug me. Of course though, I already knew what that was like and could beat the shit out of anyone who actually tried.

That was, if these wimpy muscles actually obeyed me. Walking with legs that were longer than my own usual ones was an odd experience, and I kept smacking my hands into stuff when I tried to grab it with these long arms. I was lucky though that Lucy's body itself was used to these weights and lengths and was helping me out.

Checking over everything, I nodded proudly. Everything was in check and I was ready to face the father of Lucy's nightmares!

I opened the door and handed all of my luggage to the servant girl that was still waiting there patiently for me. "Be waiting by the front entrance for me please." I flashed a grin to the bemused girl as I began to waltz down the stairs. No need to make an entrance Tia, it's the exit that will go off with a bang!

Laughing lightly to myself, I glided over the polished marbles towards where all the servants were heading. It was a good guess that they would be waiting on me and Jude-san.

I inclined my head to the servants that opened the doors, and before they closed I looked back and flapped my hands at the servant girl with my stuff that was standing there and staring after me in confusion. She had to go and stand at the front entrance, or I was royally screwed.

Internally snickering at the fanciness of this whole place (I mean, the dining table I was approaching was big enough for forty people and there was only two of us!), I sat down in the seat drawn out for me by a servant. I stared across the ridiculously long dining table at the neatly trimmed moustache of Lucy's father.

"Father," I bowed my head towards him.

"Daughter."

Oh hell no, does this idiot think he can call Lucy daughter for nearly ten years and she won't hate him? Dude you call your child by their name, not by what the hell they are! Unless they're a toerag, my little sister was always a toerag to my mum, but that was joke.

I let my bangs drop in front of my face to shadow the calculating look that was almost certain to be in my eyes, I didn't want my face to reveal that I was plotting what I was going to do next.

"Why is your hair out?" Jude asked me rudely, moustache twitching as he picked up his utensils to dig into the heaping pile of food in front of him. "A heiress must always have her hair done properly as a _lady_." Jude glared at me disapprovingly down the table, "you will fix your hair immediately after this meal. You will have another suitor come visit you at ten o'clock sharp in the drawing room and I don't want any screw ups from you like last time."

I gritted my teeth at his disgusted tone, how could Lucy bounce back from this all? How could she survive nine years of this crap? How dare he talk to her like that!

"You will answer me when I talk to you!"

"I'm sorry, father," I ground out, "but I believe I shall be unable to make this meeting with the suitor. Or any other suitor for that matter." Raising my gaze I glared at him with a smirk playing around my mouth. "How sad is that, father? I guess you will have to tell the disappointed man that he shall not be getting married to me."

I daintily ate at the meal set before me, using the correct fork and knife in a textbook perfect grip. I had to thank that year of female-only, English boarding school dad sent me to. The manners I learnt then were saving me face here.

"What are you talking about!" Jude slammed his hands against the table, "quit your babbling and look at me as I speak!"

I dragged my gaze to his and smiled with an innocent expression, "yes, father? What words of _absolute _wisdom are you going to impart on me today?"

Jude spluttered and flushed an angry red, "stop this back talk, you cretin child!"

"Oh cretin child," I simpered, "I have not hear that before. Can't handle the heat father? What are you going to do to me? Send me to my room? I've been locked in this accursed place for nearly ten years now!" I hadn't realised I had stood up until my chair had hit the ground with a bang.

"Shut up and sit down!" Jude stood up with a growl and began to advance towards me. He was taller in height as he towered over me, but I felt invincible then and I was goddamn Tiana. Tia of the Valley of Whirlpools my gang mates had called me, playing upon my last name and the name I had affectionately dubbed my switch-blade style. (My last name had meant Valley of in Dutch, from my dad's side of the family, and I had affectionately named my switch-blade style Uzu after its' hypnotic swirling flicks that took up most of its style.) I felt myselfshake in anger and indignation as I stared up at Jude's hard eyes. I was a bloody honorary gang member in over twenty gangs in different countries! I have fought alongside my gangs proudly, I have done anarchy with mates, and experienced all the horrors that life had thrown at me without a fucking flinch! I would not let this old fart let Lucy be trapped here forever!

I snarled up at Jude, teeth snapping together. "Well, father? It seems that you can't control this body, let alone this mind. Screw you and your fucking company, I'm going outside in the real world, and I'm going to become a celestial mage just like Mama!" I whipped out the keychain of Celestial keys that I had found tucked away securely in Lucy's room that had been hidden until now in the sash of the dress I was wearing. They glowed ominously as I leant into Jude's face. "How about that, father dear?"

When his flabbergasted face didn't reply, I slammed my booted foot into his nuts and laughed gleefully as he collapsed down. "She shoots and she scores!" Giving him another kick, this time, in the kidneys, I began to run off for the front entrance, passing alarmed servants as I went. "Goodbye hellhole, hello whole world!"

I cartwheeled down the lush carpet simply because I could, not minding that my overbalanced body meant I went careening off in all sorts of angles. Doffing an imaginary hat at the two doorman, I grabbed my bags from the servant girl and gave her a quick hug, "thanks for all your help!"

Laughing again, I ran towards a horse-drawn carriage that sat to the side of the sweeping driveway, almost like it was waiting for me. I opened the door to the carriage and chucked in all my luggage before jogging around to the front and leaping up beside the driver's seat. I beamed at the startled look on the driver's face, "I need to get to the nearest town. Reckon you can do that for me?" He nodded hesitantly before clicking his tongue and getting the horse to start clopping.

"Please set a good pace," I stared back at the mansion as we began our journey, "I wish to be away from here quickly."

"As you wish ,my lady."

The horse sped up into a trot and I marvelled at the rush of freedom I was getting from this experience. I wasn't the one escaping their hell, that was Lucy. So why did I feel so satisfied by this? So happy about the fact I was leaving that place?

I shrugged as a cart began to pass us, that wasn't my problem anymore. Our carriage was going a faster pace than theirs, so I only managed to pull down my lower eyelid and stick my tongue out at the suitor that passed me. I got a satisfying glimpse of his shocked face before we sped past him.

The driver chuckled next to me, "maybe the next town over will give you a better chance of staying out here, ne, Lucy-chan?"

I turned to him and smiled happily. "It would be my absolute pleasure to get away from here that fast, my good sir."

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**This story will deviate from the story quite broadly. A different Lucy will mean differences in the plotline. Tia abhors weakness and Lucy, frankly, has a lot of weakness. There's so much potential in her that has been wasted, Tia will make Lucy into a lean, mean fighting machine!**

**The next few chapters will be of Tia's journey through Fiore getting stronger, and generally do some weird shit as she hides away from Jude.**

**Tell me if I should continue.**

**Laters.**

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**Edited for the first time: 16/09/14**


	2. The road to Hargeon

**Okay I'm back again, just chilling from my other stories.**

**So people are obviously thinking this won't be too good from the lack of reviews, views, blah, blah, blah.**

**Well I'm here to prove you wrong.**

**(Hopefully)**

**Let's get started then!**

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**Disclaimer: **_Why is the new episodes S2? It's long past the second season, that was Phantom Lord. Oh, and I don't own FT_

**Warning: **_Language, not as much as my other stories though_

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**Tia/Lucy P.O.V.**

I wandered through the streets of the small town I was in. Small enough it could be a village, but it was quaint and no one had found me yet.

I rubbed my feet tiredly as I crossed rougher stone, Lucy's feet were so soft and unused to anything taxing. I had been walking barefoot for days now to strengthen them and form callouses like my old feet, but it was slow going. Training this body was quite irritating really, I had taken to walking to each town rather than hitching a lift whenever someone went by me. It would hopefully get my fitness up a bit.

Another big change was my clothing choice compared to anything Lucy had ever wore. My top was a plain black one and my shorts a modest denim, the only thing that was vaguely similar to Lucy was the boots I occasionally wore on my feet. They weren't tall, high-heeled boots, they looked more like lace, combat boots. I had my hair up in a high ponytail for convenience, nothing special really. Although I had been tempted to cut off my distinctive hair, I had wasted a bit of money getting the tips of them a dark red. Just as I used to have.

All in all I blended in (mostly), which was the plan.

I had been travelling from the village the driver had dropped me off at. It had taken me nearly a week to travel this small, out-of-the-way village. The reason?

Gate keys.

Contrary to belief, keys weren't just handed out as freebies on the side of the street. There were people who had connections to the Celestial spirit world, they were most commonly known as seers. People who could connect to the heavens like celestial mages, but used their connections to see through time. Spirits weren't actively connected to time as humans were, they could spend a week in their world and it would be a year in human time.

Time was a troublesome thing.

Later on in the series the Fairy Tail crew had gone into the spirit world for only a night, unfortunately that took up the rest of the month they had to prepare for the Grand Magic Games. This didn't necessarily mean that if you spent another night in the spirit realm, around three weeks would've passed in human time. Time was a bitch, it sometimes ran fast, sometimes it ran slow, you just didn't know.

That's why seers were so rare and trusted by the spirits.

Those who could take in the fucked up time laws of the spirit world and not go insane were certainly powerful in their own right. I often laughed at how in the series celestial magic wasn't considered very strong, but it was the most sought after magic.

The Key to the Starry Heavens and even Eclipse were a testament to that.

Seers were given newly made keys by spirits and either someone bought it, earned it, or the seer gave it away. Rarely would the seer hoard the key, but this village was small enough and not well-known, that hopefully meant the seer didn't interact with anyone too much to give the keys away.

Several people's eyes were on me as I walked down the street, they didn't get many visitors to their village. I ignored their stares and made my way to a small hut closer to the edge of town.

It wasn't drab or poor looking by any measure, it was a homey feeling hut and I fell in love with it as I approached the door. I softly knocked on said door and backed away to a respectable distance, bowing my head slightly.

"Yes?"

I looked at the silver haired women under my bangs and bowed to her, "I'm sorry to intrude wise woman. I've travelled to meet your presence and to hopefully gain your favour."

A small smile tilted the woman's mouth up, "I've been expecting you noble, child of the stars. You have travelled far and I know your purpose to obtain some of my keys, come and sit at my hearth. We have much to discuss."

I nodded and followed her into the hut, "thank you.."

"Kiyo child of the stars."

"Kiyo-sama, my name is Lucy." I sat down at the stool Kiyo had pulled in front of the small fireplace she had. Kiyo merely nodded as she busied herself making tea and I stared at the personalised home. Trinkets hung from the ceiling and all sorts of fun looking things littered the floor, all brightly coloured.

"Ah yes," a cup of tea was set in front of me, "Lucy daughter of Layla, both children of the stars."

My mouth quirked up slightly, "if I am a child of the stars, what does that make seers like you?" Kiyo laughed lightly and sipped her tea, "we are simply those of stars much like you. The difference is that we look into a star and see everything, celestial mages look only to the spirit and power of a star. Children like you lack the wisdom of the star, but I do not blame you, to see the entirety of a star takes years of practise and solitude. Something you have no time for no?"

I merely raised an eyebrow, "such knowledge. Does the weight of it hold you back at all?"

"Much like yours?" Retorted Kiyo, "child you have a hard task ahead of you. To change it you're going to need all the help you can get." Kiyo stood up and swept off into a beaded doorway, very cliché in a way.

I continued to drink my tea as I waited for Kiyo, a rather nice flavour and I didn't normally like tea. My attention was drawn back to the beaded doorway as Kiyo came back with a worn wooden box in her arms.

"These are the keys I have in my possession," Kiyo opened the box with a small key, "I haven't had a visitor in quite a while." She opened the lid and turned the box to me, "what do you think of these stars?"

I smiled brightly, "they're beautiful Kiyo-sama."

The three silver keys pulsed with a bright glow and Kiyo smiled fondly at them, "they already like you a lot." I snapped my gaze up to her, "they?"

"Yes they child," Kiyo picked the keys up gently and pressed them into my hands, "all of them wish to be used. I nearly was going to sell them to the next trader since I was worried they would grow bored and restless of being here, I'm glad you came."

I couldn't say anything at this act of kindness, it was too much!

"Thank you Kiyo-sama," I managed to croak out, "I will treat them well."

Kiyo nodded and smiled, "I know you will. Do you know what to do next? They are quite urgent to be summoned, patient as they may be, they want to be contracted as soon as possible."

"Of course." I picked up one of the keys in my right hand, a very familiar one. Standing up and thrusting my arm out I began to chant out the usual contract. A large seal appeared under me and I felt my magic flare, then deplete as I opened a gate into the celestial spirit world.

I plunged my hand down and unlocked the gate, _"open gate of the lyre, Lyra!"_

A brief glow obscured my eyes, but soon the excited form of Lyra appeared in front of me. "Hiya summoner! I'm glad to be summoned anytime! Just call me and I'll be there!" I smiled at the blushing girl with wings, "it would be a pleasure to have someone beside me as I travel. Would you mind if I kept you out always? I quite like company and I'm sure your music will be amazing!"

Lyra blushed even harder and twirled, "it would be an honour! I'm Lyra of the lyre and who may you be?"

"Lucy," I bowed slightly to her, "the honour is mine Lyra."

She grinned at me, "shall I head back Lucy-sama?"

"Lucy is just fine," I waved her off, "and I would like you to stay with me as I summon the next spirit. I will have to ask the others to head back though, I can only hold two gates for a short amount of time, enough to make a contract."

"Quite impressive child," mused Kiyo, "you must have a lot of spirit in you and a hard training to have such potential. How do you do it?"

I merely tapped my nose, "just summoning my spirits and having them out for as long as possible to push my limits. When I don't have a spirit out, I meditate and do exercises to expend my magic in different ways. Sometimes I force my magic out in pulses and other times I use it as pure magic to enhance my movements."

"What do you mean by that Lucy?" Lyra put on a thoughtful look, "I've never heard of such a way to use raw magic."

I nodded as I placed Lyra's key on my key ring, "I got the idea from..somewhere. I simply don't charge my magic into any of my celestial spirit keys, I hold the magic from my core and simply charge it through my body. Raw magic, or pure magic, can enhance one's speed, strength and stamina for a short while."

"Impressive," stated Kiyo, "but I believe we were summoning the next spirit, no?"

I blushed slightly and scrambled for the next key. This one was completely unfamiliar, it had a pictograph of waves like Aquarius's, but with chains crossing it. I shrugged and repeated the chant to the spirit world, "what spirit is this Kiyo-sama?"

"Andromeda, the princess."

"_Open gate of the princess, Andromeda!"_

The glow of my magic disappeared to show the form of a beautiful young woman. She had long, braided brown hair with a small circlet of silver interwoven in it. Her bright blue eyes stared at me, but what caught my attention was the long chains coming off her arms. Unlike Virgo's the chains were a thinner kind, but there was a lot more of them crossing over her. The dress she wore was fine and she was bare-footed, an interesting combo.

I dipped my head in greeting, "Andromeda of Aethiopia. A pleasure for you to work with me, I hope you shall lend me your power."

The woman smiled faintly, "I am a spirit not used for combat summoner, but I shall lend you my help whenever I am summoned. What I your name child of the stars?"

"Lucy."

"Lucy, you know of my story I presume?" I nodded at her question, "Perseus saved you from Cetus, did he not?"

"Yes," Andromeda's eyes saddened slightly, "I have never been a fighter, my mother's hubris led to my near demise. After I died and was set into the heavens by Athena, I became a supporting type of spirit. The best I can do for you is supply information about other spirits and their stories, this because I have been in the spirit world for many centuries and I know many things. You have Crux, but he is limited by what he can say due to laws. I on the other hand, may go wherever I please and say anything. That is all I can offer you."

I mulled over his for a moment until an idea popped into my head, "can I only summon you with me? You said you can go anywhere, so does that mean I can summon you in a different location?"

A sly smile crept onto Andromeda's face, "well done Lucy, as your power grows you can summon me farther away. I suggest you learn to summon your spirits differently, you will have a greater advantage if you do so."

I smiled at the spirit, "it shall be my pleasure to summon you again Andromeda. Until next time."

Andromeda nodded, "until next time." She disappeared in a flash, an I sighed in relief as the pressure of holding two gates released. Quite an amazing spirit I must say, although why she had those abilities confused me. Spirits should not be able to be summoned away from the summoner, and Andromeda's story offered no reason why she should have this ability. Next time I summon her I'll be sure to ask.

"The last one please child." I started slightly at Kiyo's command and blushed at Lyra's knowing giggle. I picked up the last key which had a bow and arrow on it, quite like Sagittarius's. How curious. I did the chant and plunged the key into the gate.

"Kiyo-sama?"

"Centauras, the centaur."

I opened the gate and yelled out, _"Open gate of the centaur, Centauras!"_

"Hello summoner." The first male of the three dipped his head in greeting, "I am Centauras. How may you be?"

Hm, down to earth and down to business. I like him already. I bowed at the man who had a horse as an ass, "Lucy. An honour." He merely smiled, "well I should state my abilities and when you can summon me should I not?"

"That would be wise," I answered with a grin.

He crossed his arms over a black vest, "I am the centaur spirit, closely related to the spirit of Sagittarius. We are both archers and I learnt to shoot from him, therefore my capabilities are lesser to his true aim. I use my archery mainly as defence, but my speed is sure and swift. I can be summoned any day except for Mondays and Tuesdays. Is this sufficient Lucy-san?"

"Lucy," I corrected absently, "it's perfect Centauras. I have needed a spirit based more on speed rather than just power alone. This is perfect, I think it'll be fun to work together Centaur-"

"Cenas," he cut across me, "it will be easier for both of us Lucy." I smiled at him before waving goodbye and closing the gate.

I slumped in the chair next to me and wiped the sweat on my forehead. Holding two gates open was hard, even for that short amount of time. Hopefully I would be able to push my training further to increase my magical capacity.

"Are you okay Lucy?" Lyra's worried face hovered near me, "did the gates tire you out? Should I go back?"

"No Lyra," I managed a smile, "I'll be alright in a moment."

A glass of water appeared in front of me, "quite a quick contract there child." Kiyo watched as I sculled the water, "take care of those keys and they shall do you well." She took the finished glass from me and placed it over by a small sink I hadn't seen before, "it is time for you to move on again child."

"Of course," I bowed to her, "a thousand thanks Kiyo-sama of the heavens."

"Travel well Lucy of the stars."

I beckoned Lyra as we walked out of the small hut and began to walk directly back to the small motel I had managed to find to grab my bag. Lyra was content to float beside me and stare at the sights of the town, all of which, who stared right back.

"Are you sure it is quite alright to have me out for so long Lucy?" Asked Lyra as she drifted over some crates, "won't you exhaust your magic supply?"

"It's okay Lyra," I laughed, "your gate doesn't take up too much of my magic. Besides, if needed I can close your gate and summon you as soon as I feel stronger." Lyra hummed uncertainly but kept quiet until I had grabbed my bags and began the walk the road out of town. "Where are we going Lucy?"

"Places," I shrugged, "but were going to look for keys, get my physical and magical levels up. And," a wide grin crept across my face, "we're going to look for clues on dragons!"

Lyra seemed rather taken aback by my comment but merely brushed it off, "do you want me to play you anything Lucy?"

"Yeah. Do you know how to play Snow Fairy on your harp?"

* * *

_Habata itara modoranai to itte  
mezashite no wa shiroi shiroi ano kumo  
Tsukinuketara mitsukaru to shitte_

_Furikiru hodo aoi aoi ano sora  
aoi aoi ano sora  
aoi aoi ano sora_

"Thanks Lyra!" I beamed at the winged girl finishing her song, "I'll see you soon?" She rolled her eyes before smiling back, "of course Lucy-chan."

I felt my smile widen as I closed the gate, Lucy-chan never got old. Sure only Lyra and Cenas called me that, but I knew the other spirits loved me in their…own way. Maybe. Speaking of loving in a unique way…"Aquarius!"

"What do you want brat?"

I smiled nervously at the spirit who had appeared splashing in the natural pool beside the grassy plain I was sitting on. "Do you think we'll ever see any dragons?" She scoffed and splashed some water at me, "don't get your hopes up kid. I've only seen a dragon once and that was a long time ago."

"Oldie," I snickered quietly.

"What was that?!"

"Nothing!" I squeaked at Aquarius's wrathful expression. It didn't matter if I acted differently to the real Lucy, Aquarius still 'hated' my guts. I know she actually does care for me (in her own special way), but I had to earn a hell of a lot more respect from her before she actually called me Lucy. (I think that'll be when I finally get myself a proper boyfriend.) Until then she's happy to boast that she has one, not that I especially cared, I had all the guys I could ever want in my life with my spirits.

Cenas secretly had to be my favourite guy, he was kind, but had a good sense of humour. He had the most patient and battle tactic mind out of all of my spirits, and he surprisingly made pretty good food. (But nowhere near as good as Lyra's)

Taurus was my heavy hitter of the group. His perverted comments made me laugh rather than get annoyed like Lucy did, and I often summoned him to keep me company when Lyra was too tired. He was also a great person to get a piggyback on since he's so tall.

Don't judge the piggyback, I'm fifteen in real age, but I can act like I'm five. It's the body that looks sixteen.

Cancer didn't just help with my hair when it was horrible, he was the one I looked to guide me either than Andromeda. He was the most level-headed spirit, often detached at times, and I trusted his judgement.

Andromeda kind of felt like a mother in the sense she always had something to say to make me feel better, or the fact she always gave me words of wisdom. She could be rather cool, bordering on cold, but she always had a nice smile and words ready.

Crux wasn't summoned unless I was absolutely lost (his information came quite handy sometimes) or I wanted absolute peace and quiet, even as I trained my magic capacity.

Last but not least was Lyra.

Where to begin….She was the one who stayed with me constantly throughout my travels of Fiore. She was the one who helped me learn how to cook, clean, play the harp and how to sing. She was the one who comforted me whenever I felt sad about home, even if she didn't realise where exactly my true home was. She was the one who nursed me back to health whenever I depleted my magic. She was the one who tended my wounds when I was training in hand-to-hand, or whenever we ran into some crazy ass monster. She was the one I felt closest to.

She was exactly like my little sister.

Occasionally it made me sad to see Maya reflected in Lyra, but then I remember Lyra is a completely different person. It still does make me want to curl up and cry though.

So my spirits were going well. I unfortunately hadn't found any more keys, but I was content to 'power up' some more before I got new keys. I was so close to being able to summon two spirits at the same time and fight alongside them.

Along the lines of fighting….

I stood up from the grass and wiped the dirt off my bare legs. I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt along with my combat boots as usual. The only thing that ever changed was the colour of my shirt or shorts.

Aquarius instantly brought her attention to me as I walked to a flat piece of land and dropped into a beginning stance. Whatever spirit was out at that point had to watch me train and point out the flaws I made as I did so. Aquarius was the most brutal, but I found her harsh honesty refreshing and also encouraging when she taunted me relentlessly.

My right hand hovered over my left shoulder as I prepared to draw out the only noticeable thing about me either than my hair. A thick, brown strap crossed from my left shoulder to my right hip, the scabbard of my sword was also a dull brown, but the sword was a gleaming silver as I drew it down in a slash.

I had won the sword after I had passed through an obscure, red-light town. For those who don't know what red-light towns or districts are, I hope you will never see one. They're a place full of brothels, whore houses, gambling taverns and races. The race being 'games,' things like those card stands you see that make money from people trying to find the joker. Stuff like that.

I had passed through the town to gain valuable information on both the locations of gate keys and dragons. The underbelly of any place always had the greatest information, trust me. After winning some bets, I began to suss out information from those with loose mouths. No one knew anything about gate keys, but I had information on a certain Salamander.

He had blown up the man's last brothel, along with the rest of that area.

I couldn't help but laugh at that memory, the trouble Natsu always seemed to be in! I hadn't met him yet, but I was so excited for it. In fact, I had been steadily making my way towards Hargeon for the last month. Ten months on the road kills you, even if it is strangely freeing.

I began to go through basic katas with my sword, the usual, I could always let my thoughts drift whenever I did this. The moves were so engrained into me I could do it with my eyes closed, as I had done so before.

I had learned to wield the sword after I had spent a month with a farmer and his family down south. Yuma had been part of the royal guards before he had grown too old and became a farmer. His skills with a sword were better than average and he was only too happy to show me hospitality and his art of the sword. The month I had spent with Yuma, his wife Suzu and their little boy Kato was the longest I had ever stayed in one place since leaving the Heartifillia estate. It felt like home, and I had nearly cried when I knew I had to move on. Little Kato was the cutest thing and I can only hope I get to see them again.

The months after were long and sometimes lonely since I only had my spirits for company. Sure I could go into towns, but the crowds now felt oppressive, and I disliked having to spend my small amount of money on things I could get in the wild.

Unlike Lucy I preferred the outdoors to lush hotels, or even your regular bed and breakfast. I spent most of my time along roads and forests that I felt more at home there than anywhere else, excluding Yuma's farm.

I roused myself out of my memories before I slowly began to speed up my katas, and began to use harder tricks as I slashed and twirled. I finished when I threw my sword like a dagger and it stuck into a tree with a thump. I panted as I went to retrieve it, I was nowhere near Erza's level, but the years of wielding switchblades had come somewhat in handy.

"Not too bad brat," Aquarius said begrudgingly, "a lot better than that sissy twirling you did months ago.

"Thanks Aquarius," I replied dryly and pulled the sword out from the tree, "real moral boosting." She smirked smugly, "that's what I'm here for. Either than drowning those who dare defy my summoner!"

I often got freaked out by her sudden mood swings. She may pretend to dislike me, but the simple idea of some idiot trying to defeat me made her fire up. Apparently when I lose, it insults her since I'm her summoner.

That's the reason why I usually summoned her when I was attacked by bandits.

Like right now.

"Give us your money girly!" A ragged looking man sneered at me, "we won't hurt you too bad!" The five other men around him crowed in agreement and a few leered at me.

Oh hell no.

"Oh no," I deadpanned, "please have mercy on my virgin soul."

"A virgin eh?" A dirty blond licked his lips, "well maybe I'll have a go eh? How about that blondie? Want to have a go with old Uncle Sam eh?"

I rolled my eyes, "if you say eh one more time, you'll find your head up his ass." I pointed at the guy who had first spoken who was next to 'Uncle Sam.' I had taken the line off Hancock, but they didn't know that.

"Oh really?" Sam advanced closer, "you and that little spirit of yours? Celestial wizards are weak 'cause they stay cowering behind their summons. Isn't that right eh?"

Aquarius looked at me, "you wanna go or should I?"

"He said eh," I cracked my knuckles, "time to fulfil that promise." I cracked my knuckles louder before cocking my head, "now who wants to go first…eh?"

* * *

"So you beat up those bandits pretty good right?"

I snorted at Lyra's innocent comment, "of course I did Lyra. He said eh like _five times! It was so annoying! _I was prepared to beat them up when they first appeared, but that was the icing on the cake to finish it off."

Lyra giggled lightly as we walked along the road, "that is so you Lucy-chan! But I wonder how they found you? I mean, you were in the middle of a forest, and in a grove you had stumbled across. How did they find you there?"

I shrugged and adjusted the duffle bag I had exchanged for the suitcase from the mansion, "dunno Lyra. That may have been a trap for unaware travellers and I had stumbled into it like so many before me. God only knows!"

Lyra just nodded and we walked on in silence. That is, until I saw the ocean and a sign proudly exclaiming Hargeon. I stopped and stared at it while Lyra squealed with delight next to me, "we finally made it Lucy-chan! After so long of travelling, we made it to the place you said Salamander was going to be seen!"

A grin slowly crept across my face, "yeah…we did it. We finally did it! Holy shit Lyra we're here! We're here! We're here! We're here!" I cartwheeled and round-offed in excitement, "I can't believe we're here!"

"Well you better believe it Lucy-chan!" Lyra flapped her wings over to me, "now let's hurry up and go inside! You need to find somewhere to rest and sleep, it's been ages since we last made it to a town, so you better not waste this opportunity!"

"Okey dokey," I cheered before running towards the entrance of Hargeon, "c'mon Lyra!"

"Yes. Yes!"

As we walked underneath the sign of Hargeon, I gazed around the cobblestone town with great excitement. We were on track to the Fairy Tail story! I was actually a day early so I could rest up and see the sights before Natsu showed up, but still, Fairy Tail!

"Oh Lyra I'm so pumped up for this!" I danced a little in my combat boots, "let's go see everything!" I went to run off but Lyra quickly grasped my shoulder, "don't go running off willy-nilly Lucy-chan. I for one don't want your new clothes to be ruined so soon after you got them!"

I beamed at the spirit floating beside me, "and I can't thank you enough for that Lyra! These clothes are superb!"

Lyra blushed at my compliment, "it was just a little something I picked out. Nothing much really…"

I plucked at the new shirt I was wearing, "they're awesome Lyra and you're awesome. That's all there is to say!"

My usual plain t-shirt had been replaced by a long sleeve white top and a sleeveless black hoodie, both surprisingly form fitting but comfortable. A red dragon roared across the jumper and spat out flames around the edge of the actual hood, it looked awesome. I still wore shorts, a ripped pair of faded white-blue that I loved dearly. Along with my usual boots I looked pretty badass. The only piece of jewellery I wore was the locket that contained a photo of Layla and Lucy when she was little. I treasured it as much as Lucy would've done, the other necklaces I had sold for money, but this one I always wore. My hair was done up in a high ponytail with the blue ribbon tied around it in a pretty boy, very girly, but I liked it.

"Let's just head to a hotel," sighed Lyra, "and we'll go sightseeing later. Okay?"

I nodded, "okay."

* * *

By the time the next day had come up, I was boiling with energy. Lyra had finally got fed up of my excitement last night and had left when I got to the hotel safely. I hadn't summoned any more spirits since I was going to get a new one today.

Plue I'm coming for you!

I danced through the crowds as I made my way to the little magic shop I had seen yesterday. It seemed expensive there, but I had saved up money just for this occasion. A few thousand jewels were easily in my price range.

The bell chimed as I waltzed in, I beamed at the man working the counter, "keys please!"

He blinked at me, "the keys to my shop? R-really? Madam I don't think you should rob me, I-"

I laughed at that, "nah man I mean your gate keys! Sorry about that! I wish to see any gate keys you have for me, any at all!"

He tutted slightly as he rummaged in the display case for a velvet cushion with some keys on it. "I'm afraid we don't have many keys," he placed the keys onto the table where I could see them, "but here you are madam."

"Lucy," I said absently as I gazed at the keys for Plue. I zoned into the little blue figure on one of the keys and snatched it up with an exclamation, "this one! This is the Canis Minor right? Nikola?"

The man nodded as he studied the key, "yes that is the Canis Minor. But it's not a fighting type! Most of the time it's used as a pet, it _is _a doggy."

I nodded sagely, "but not all of my keys are for combat." I flashed my three gold keys and four silver keys, "I treat all of my keys as they should be. As an equal who don't just live to fight! They have been my only company on the road for the last ten months, I don't know what I would've done without them." My keys glowed faintly as I fiddled with them, "thanks guys."

"You're the first." The counterman leaned forward intently and slid two keys over, "you are the first summoner who didn't say how cute these keys were, but how useless they were. You have three gold keys and yet you don't think less of the silver, I admire that. Canis Minor and the little fox are yours for only ten thousand jewels."

I beamed at the man, "thank you so much! I will not let you down! These keys will be treasured and I'm honoured that you would give me these keys sir!"

He chuckled lightly and waved at me, "well the wise woman of the heavens _did _tell me to look out for a blond celestial mage. It was a pleasure doing business with you Lucy of the stars."

I bowed disbelievingly to him, "the honour's mine sir." I waved goodbye and walked out the shop, I can't believe I just got two keys! Wow this is amazing! I could've screamed like a lunatic at he sky, but I had a date with a certain Salamander!

* * *

**Well that was strange to write. I know no one especially wants to hear what Tia does as she travels, so I tried to push it all together into one chapter. Not too sure whether that was good idea but we shall see.**

**The song Lyra sang was Blue bird, not a Fairy Tail song 'cause I'll be using other Japanese songs throughout this.**

**FAIRY TAIL CANNON BEGINS NEXT CHAPTER YAY!**

**Pumped up for this!**

**See you soonish**


	3. Meeting the main character

**Hello there!**

**Yes it has been a while, but I'm here!**

**I didn't feel motivated to write this until I reread the story, and then there was an urge to smash out another chapter. And there's Natsu!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_Don't own any of the amazing characters, just some twists in the plot and the chick inside Lucy_

**Warning: **_Some language here and there. No sweat_

* * *

**Tia/Lucy P.O.V.**

I was wandering through the streets of Hargeon when I heard the excited screaming of teenaged girls.

"That is definitely Salamander," I muttered to the floating spirit next to me.

"It doesn't sound like very dignified women at all," huffed Lyra. "Those ladies should be ashamed of themselves! Screaming over a man like that!" She turned to glower slightly at me, "no boyfriend for you if you act like that!"

I snorted slightly, "that doesn't sound anything like me Lyra. If I squeal over a man like that, please kill me."

"But then I would be banished out of the Spirit Realm," Lyra replied innocently.

I cursed lightly, "it's somewhat irritating that you've gotten used to my fucked up humour."

"Language!" Lyra slapped me lightly across the head.

Scowling slightly and rubbing my head, I turned a corner to find a massive throng of screaming girls with – I'm not even joking – freaking love hearts in their eyes! Some things in anime still weird me out when I see them in person.

"There's an allure surrounding these girls," Lyra said seriously from my left. She flicked a concerned look to me, "is it affecting you Lucy-chan?"

I shook my head as we approached the crowd, "no Lyra. Remember how illusion or controlling spells don't work on me? Because of the fact that I always have my magic enhancing my movements?"

"Oh yeah!" Lyra nodded excitedly, "it forms a layer over your body that repulses illusions and whatnot. Didn't you find that out when we versed that illusion mage?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "Just annoying that he managed to get away when I was distracted, he had Horologium's key."

Lyra didn't answer as we had now entered the mass of women calling out to the single male in the centre of the ring. Even from here I could tell Bora was a scummy, little bastard. He had the look of a con-artist, or someone from the several red-light districts I had passed through. Did this country not teach stranger danger?

Stupid Fiore people.

The slight tug of the charm spell increased with every step I took closer to the fire mage. I had to actively fight it from taking over my mind when I stopped directly in front of Bora.

Several of the women behind me were clawing at my back, trying to get past so I could see, but I merely stood there quietly and did nothing.

It only took a moment for Bora to notice that a female in the crowd wasn't screaming, drooling, proclaiming their love, that they wanted to marry him, wanted to have his babies, or throwing themselves on the ground in front of him.

He appeared in my face with – I'm still not joking – actual fucking sparkles shimmering around his entire being. A hand caressed my face and it took all my willpower not to either; bite the offending hand, or grab the sword on my back and go ape-shit insane on him.

I can't express how much willpower it took.

I held back a shudder and stared blankly at Bora as he said strange things about me being a blossom, or some random crap like that. Just a few more moments…

"IGNEEL!"

There he is.

Bora turned to find a salmon haired boy on his hands and knees, staring up at him expectantly. It took a few moments for Natsu to realise that the creepy man was in fact, not his huge ass dragon father called Igneel.

"You're not Igneel."

And with that, he turned from Bora's ever smiling face and walked straight through the crowd of stunned women.

"He just flicked off Salamander!"

"How dare he do that!"

"Get him girls!"

I could hear Lyra choke back giggles at the fairly comical scene of Natsu being beaten up by a bunch of civilian women.

Rolling my eyes at her stifled laughs, I walked over to the scuffle that was going on and gently pushed some of the enraged women aside. "I think he's had enough ladies. We don't a murder on your pretty little hands do we?"

With much grumbling, the women backed off and slowly turned back to Bora, who had apparently come over to where Natsu and I were.

"My beautiful blossom." He brandished a ringed hand at me, "I would be delighted if you were to join me upon my ship tonight. There will be much merriment and beverages to be drunk!"

What the hell was this guy! Some royal from the olden days!

I tuned out the rest of his flowery speech, nodding where necessary with a polite smile on my face. When he finally reached the end I put on a bigger smile and said that I would be delighted to come.

"Excellent!" He chirped before waving at me and the other women before clicking his fingers and being whisked away on a trail of purple flames.

Show off.

"What a weirdo."

A grin crossed my face as I turned to find a slightly dazed looking Natsu staring after where Bora had gone. "And he wasn't even Igneel!"

I laughed loudly at his absolutely devastated facial expression, "as if you would find a giant dragon in the middle of a port town!"

A flash of pink and white was all I saw before Natsu's onyx eyes bore into mine, "you know who Igneel is!" He shook my shoulders roughly with the hands that were suddenly clamped down on them, "do you know where he went?!"

I couldn't answer him, I could only try to keep my eyes in my head as my brain rattled around in my head.

"Stop shaking her idiot!"

I was dropped sharply and hit the ground with a thud. I tried to focus my eyes on something, but it was hard, it felt like they were swirling in circles. When I could see clearly, I had to laugh at Natsu's now cowed expression as he was torn into by an angry Lyra.

"I dare you to touch my summoner again cretin!"

Scrambling upright, I put my hand on Lyra's shoulder in a soothing gesture, "calm down Lyra. He was just excited to hear any information on his father. That was all."

She huffed and turned away from the confused dragon slayer, "well he could at least be civilised about it!"

"I agree." I smiled at Natsu before linking arms with Lyra, "care to join us for lunch dragon slayer? It's on me."

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

Lucy sat down on one side of the booth, Lyra now gone, and Natsu sat on the other side, with a Happy who had appeared suddenly during the walk to the restaurant they were in.

Natsu pointed at Lucy dramatically, "how the hell do you know Igneel?!"

The blond with red tips didn't reply, she calmly ordered a large selection of food from the waitress that came to take their orders.

Natsu was steadily getting angry at the busty girl, she had talked about Igneel like he knew him, and now she wasn't saying anything about him! Maybe this girl was tricking him, just like many others before her had done. But those people hadn't know Igneel's name, or the fact that he was a dragon slayer.,,

The slayer discreetly pulled Happy slightly closer to him and warily watched the girl in front of him. If she tried anything, he would blow this joint.

Literally.

"I beg your pardon." Lucy smiled slightly at Natsu after she finished giving the waitress a long list of foods to bring them, "I expect you want to know what I know of your dragon."

"Aye!" Happy called from Natsu's side, "are you some sort of dragon in disguise?"

Lucy snorted, "that would be cool, but no. I'm just a travelling mage that was intrigued by dragons and anything about them, including their pupils, slayers like you."

"You mean there's more of us?" Natsu asked excitedly, "did Igneel teach other kids like me?"

Shaking her head Lucy replied, "not at all. I know of four other dragons and their slayers, either than you and your dragon." A crooked grin came over her face, "it was easiest to acquire information on you Natsu Dragneel, fire dragon slayer, pupil of Igneel the fire dragon."

The celestial mage crossed her arms and leant back in her seat, "is there anything you wish to ask of me?"

"Aye." Happy peered at her curiously, "why do you talk all posh like? It's so weird."

Lucy chuckled in reply, "well I came from a noble family, and the way I was brought up may have something to do with that. The main reason though is because I think over my words when I am around strangers, often picking over my words before speaking. Therefore they come out more sophisticated and cold than what I actually think."

She stared across at Natsu's and Happy's confused expressions, "I talk smart because I don't trust you. Idiots."

"Hey!" The two yelled back.

The blond just rolled her eyes, "if you don't want to call you idiots, don't be idiots. _Obviously._"

Natsu and Happy couldn't reply to her comment as suddenly there was a huge line of dishes being served onto their table by a small crowd of waitresses. The duo sucked up the drool that was escaping their mouths and swiftly dived into the many selections of dishes in front of them.

They were quickly consuming the food at a fast pace, but Lucy wasn't far behind them, doing away with several dishes down at her end.

Natsu paused in his eating to grab a plate of spaghetti, but a hand swiftly clamped around his wrist in an iron grip. "_Don't you dare eat that._"

He glared at the blond whose angry face glared right back, "what does it matter to you?"

"I haven't eaten actual food in two months." Lucy began to wind up for a massive argument. "I have missed my fucking bolognaise, and if you don't let go, I swear to god I will stab your hand through this table!"

"Why haven't you eaten 'actual food' in two months?" Asked Happy curiously, "it seems stupid to cook fake food for yourself."

Lucy snarled slightly at the feline, completely different to the cool and collected face she had before. "I've been on the road for nearly a year, and let me tell you, taking down packs of deer to cook over a fire is not as fun as it sounds. The blood is awfully hard to get out of your clothes, and your mouth."

"You kill deer?" Natsu whispered horrified and retracted his hand away from the dish, "what kind of monster are you?"

"A starving one," Lucy replied, calmer than before. "In order to survive, I had to take down the lesser on the food chain. I have killed many a creature I agree, but I have also made friends with others. In fact, at the start of my journey, I was living with a pack of wolves to the west. That's where I learnt to hunt. Unfortunately that meant I had to use their methods, meaning I was often washing blood out of my clothes, under my nails, and out of my mouth." She shrugged casually and twirled a forkful of spaghetti, "you get used to the taste of blood after a while."

There was a long stretch of silence as the two mages and cat quietly consumed their food. It was awkward and Natsu felt like if he made one false move, all hell would break loose.

"You must think I'm a freak."

He looked curiously at the blond who was now stabbing her fork into a plate of sausages. Her face was shadowed by the bangs that swept across her forehead, two longer strands curled around the base of her face on either side.

"Why would you say that?"

"I kill."

Natsu now leant across the table to peer at her openly, "so?"

"So," Lucy drew out the sound, not looking up from her plate. "So that would probably go against your morals. You're a Fairy Tail mage, you guys are all about friendship, peace, kindness, family and all that junk that comes with it."

"So?" Natsu repeated.

Lucy now tilted her head up to meet his gaze, "so I don't think I would quite fit in, in a place such as your guild. My talents would be more suited to those of…Phantom Lord."

"Phantom Lord?!" Natsu asked her incredulously, "why the hell would you like to go to Phantom Lord?! They're all freaks who think everyone is beneath them, and they're really mean to people in their guild. Your guild mates are you nakama, you should never treat them badly!"

A smile curled Lucy's mouth, "well I do have a situation like that. Nakama that have been with me throughout my travels. Caring for me, being there, loving me. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have made it through my travels."

"Who are your nakama?" Happy asked. "I didn't see anyone with you either than that weird chick with wings, then she disappeared!"

A slight glow came from Lucy's belt and the girl chuckled as she pulled them out of a secret compartment in the strap that held her sword. "Lyra really doesn't like to be called a weirdo it seems."

"How do you know that?" Asked Natsu. "And what's up with the glowing keys?"

"I'm a celestial mage that summons spirits of the stars to help me." Lucy twirled the key ring on her index finger. "I summon them by opening their gates, they help me in whatever situation they can. They're _my _nakama."

"Can you show me?!" Natsu asked excitedly. "Do you have some massively awesome guy who can like, crush mountains?!"

Lucy chuckled again and slipped her keys away again, "All my spirits are massively awesome! Maybe they can't crush mountains, but not many can do that anyways." She shifted her sword into a comfortable position and grabbed her eating utensils again. "I can show you sometime later if that's okay with you. I sense that we'll be seeing each other shortly."

Natsu nodded in agreement and they dived once more back into their food. The silence not so awkward anymore.

* * *

**Tia/Lucy P.O.V (I should really just call her Lucy now..)**

I shifted slightly awkwardly in the dress I was wearing. Lyra had picked it out for me, and it took a combined effort of her and Cancer to get me in it. Now Cancer was doing my hair while Lyra fawned over me.

"You look so beautiful Lucy-chan!"

"Thanks Lyra," I replied dryly. Why? Because I was not happy! I never liked to wear dresses or skirts I my old life, the complete opposite of Lucy. I was glad though that the dress was sensible, and that it hid my 'battle' outfit underneath.

I may wear the jumper, shirt and shorts as casual clothes, but these clothes were much better for the wear and tear of battles.

The tough and brown hide of a monster lizard I had killed on my travels served as my (somewhat) armour. It was almost like a strapped corset that went down to my abdomen and clung to my upper body like a second skin. Showy, but necessary. I needed full movements in battle and loose clothes would only hinder me.

A cream long sleeved top was underneath it, created from a silk of giant spiders that a merchant had fought. It was also tight around my body, but it loosened around my waist and opened into wide sleeves that concealed my hands. Perfect for hiding weapons, or the actions of my hands.

My black pants were also made from the spider silk, held up by a lizard hide belt that also had two knives hanging from it.

My usual boots were worn on my feet, they were good and sturdy for battle. And it didn't hurt that I liked them.

The whole outfit was a surprise presents from my spirits. The outfit was designed by a mash of my spirits creativity, all jumbled together to create it. I could tell Taurus had a hand in the corset, it had his signature all over it. It was made sensible by what could only be deemed as Andromeda's careful mind, she didn't want her summoner to be…basically a skank.

Aquarius had chosen the colours, I could tell by how the way she had yelled at me, saying that she didn't want the brat (obviously me) to outshine her bright colours.

Centaurus had helped out Cancer and Lyra to make the outfit, his superb aim had apparently helped do the stitching.

Man I love my spirits sometimes. And the plus was, Crux had asked to put flames along the hem of my corset and sleeves. He said it was to add a finishing touch. I love that old man.

The whole outfit was hidden by a red kimono-like dress that was so long that it hid my feet. The sleeves of my top looked like part of the dress, and the whole thing was easily removable by the long zip on my back.

I struggled away from Lyra's attempt at putting make-up on me and thanked Cancer for the ponytail braid he had put my hair in.

I kissed the two goodbye, closed their gate, and headed off to find that creepo Bora and his ship of son-of-bitch slaver traders.

Oh man, he was going down Tia style!

* * *

**It was short, but at least we got that whole shazzam out of the way.**

**Tia and Natsu definitely acted differently than what Lucy and Natsu did. There wasn't that whole talk about what mages were and stuff, Tia knew who he was and made it clear that she would not screw around talking to him. She can be rather blunt and straight to the point. Hopefully it's now obvious that she is rather harsh and is not afraid to do something that could be considered bad. Killing animals to survive is something I don't think many of us have done.**

**Ah well though, hope her outfit is clear and that the characters weren't too OOC!**

**Ciao.**


	4. Bashing up Bora aka Bastard

**Hello people!**

**Jolly good show of you guys reviewing, I'll keep this brief.**

**Thanks, love you lots, here's a chapter.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_Don't own anything but this story, so if you think you can copy this, I will hunt you down and kill you. Cheers._

**Warning: **_Language and violence. MWAHAHAHA!_

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

I smiled politely at the two guards that stood beside the plank leading up to Bora's giant-ass ship.

Really, this ship was freaking massive.

Adjusting the red dress I wore, I continued onwards to the top of the ship where it seemed that most of the girls were.

They were all dolled up and looking pretty for getting shipped out to a slaving business. Not like they know that.

I weaved my way through the groups of girls drinking wine and laughing with each other. I wasn't really looking for something special, mainly checking over escape points in case this whole thing goes bust and I need to go Tia style to escape.

I love going Tia style.

My scrutinizing of the ship was interrupted when a hand latched around my forearm and began to tug me into the cabins of the ship. The whole while I was restraining myself not to cut off Bora's disgusting hand with the sword slung over my back; of course, hidden by my dress.

"Ah my lovely blossom, how lovely to see that you blessed me with your presence."

"Of course Salamander-san," I said demurely, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Bora nodded sagely and gestured for me to sit down in the chair opposite him. A glass of wine and two glasses apparently waiting for us on the table.

I watched closely as Bora opened the bottle, his two rings flashing brightly on his hand. Then a thought occurred to me. How the fuck has he got away with charming girls with these rings?! They're in plain sight for fuck's sake! How hard is it to realise the rings with the eye and heart is might have something to do with magic.

Stupid Fiore and its lack of common sense.

"A glass for a beautiful lady like you." Bora tilted a glass with dark red liquid towards me. Does he not know I'm underage?

"Thanks," I smiled, "but no thanks. I don't indulge on such drinks, I prefer non-alcoholic beverages."

I wonder how long it would take Bora to snap if I kept pushing his buttons?

The smile plastered on the scumbags' face seemed to slip slightly before coming back into full beaming mood. "That can be arranged m'dear." He beckoned over one of the cannon fodder that stood along the walls. "Can you get the pretty girl here some juice?"

"I'm on a no citrus diet," I interrupted.

A slight twitch came from Bora. "Well we can arrange it to be a non-citrus fruit dear."

I mock-pondered it for a moment before shaking my head. "No thank you. Fruit juice is bad for your teeth, and I'd like to keep my teeth as white as they are now." I showed the man my gleaming teeth with a proud look, trying to keep down the laughter that bubble up my throat.

"They are as bright as your whole being my pearl," ground out Bora.

I'll give him two minutes before he snapped.

_One hundred and twenty…One hundred and nineteen…_

"How about a soda then?"

Shaking my head again, I smiled brightly at him, "I'll have to decline again. Soft drinks aren't especially my thing."

_One hundred and fourteen…_

Bora's teeth ground uncomfortably as he stared at me, "well is there any foods I can get you my sweet?"

"Sweets sound good."

Bora relaxed slightly, thinking he could finally sort me out. "Well what can I get you? I have a wide assortment of sweets at your disposal, chocolate, ice cream, humbugs-"

"They can't have cocoa, glucose, sugar, flavouring, milk, caramel, or any additives." I frowned cutely, "I _think _that's all of my allergies."

A tic appeared over Bora's eye and I could see slight tremors going across his entire body.

_One hundred!_

"Why don't we settle for nothing then."

I frowned slightly again, "I guess so. Salamander-san-"

"Please." Bora gave a winning – not really – smile. "Just call me Salamander."

"Of course." I agreed. "I would just like to thank you for such a stupendous party you're putting on."

I could see Bora swell up in pride at my 'compliment.' "Well of course my petal! Only the finest for Salama-I mean, ladies as beautiful as you."

A smile threatened to split my face in half, but I held it in – albeit with a great amount of effort. "Pity you don't have anything a real party should have. There's no music. No amazing food to choose from. No actual hot guys I can dance with. You're not even entertaining your guests properly! I mean, _hello_, it's called being a host! And really you should…"

I could see Bora's face getting redder and redder with every passing statement I made. His teeth were grinding and his whole body was bristling in anger and wounded pride. Just a few more jabs at him…

_Seventy…Sixty nine – HAH! Sixty nine! – Sixty eight…_

A broad grin crossed my face. "And I haven't even gotten started on the fact that you seem to have poorly invited a celestial mage that is geared up to go straight up the ghetto on your ass!"

There was a stillness in the room at my comment.

The grin deepened to a smirk I only wore when making mischief with the gangs back home. Time to bring out the big guns.

I stood up and zipped down my dress in one smooth movement. The flash of red silk obscured Bora and his cannon fodder goons for a moment, until I emerged geared up in my badass battle outfit. Golden hair with red tips fluttering in a sudden breeze and my brown eyes staring fearlessly into my opponent Bora's.

At least, that's how I imagined it.

A flash of light shimmered through the air as I drew my sword and pulled out Cenas's key. "Who wants to get wild?" My right eyebrow cocked up. "Tia style."

_Fifty two…Fifty one…_

And all hell broke loose.

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

A scream of rage came from Bora as he glared at the bitch celestial mage that stood so cockily opposite him.

The blonde's face dropped slightly in a mocking pout, "awwww. I was twenty seconds off. I was so sure that you were going to snap at two minutes, this sucks."

"Shut up bitch!" Snarled Bora, "do you really think that one puny celestial mage is going to stop me." He opened his arms dramatically, gesturing at the horde of men that were circling the blonde. "And my legion of-"

"Cannon fodder."

Bora's mask of rage twisted into a confused one, "wha-?"

Lucy waved him off, "noobs like you wouldn't understand. Just continue lording over the fact that you have a bountiful of cannon fodder ready to kill off, and I'll just prepare to kick your ass."

Suddenly a loud smashing sound interrupted the scene, wood splintering off from the now broken roof. In the centre, a flash of pink and white seemed to glow ethereally.

"I heard someone say that they were the Salamander of Fairy Tail."

Lucy tilted her head as she stared at Natsu who was crouched on the ground, fist planted into it. "He actually looks kind of cool…"

"Ugh!"

Her lips twisted up in a smile as the dragon slayer slumped over and went green due to the gentle rocking of the ship. "Though, when he does that, not so cool."

"HAH!" Bora laughed at Natsu scornfully, "the hero of the day gets travel sickness! How lame is that men?!"

The surrounding men laughed along with their boss and began to advance on the comatose Natsu. Pounding their fists in a menacing manner and yelling things out like, "we'll bash him up real well boss!"

"Leave it to us!"

"We'll crush this puny kid."

"He has pink hair! So lame!"

Lucy rolled her eyes as she cocked her hip to the side, "I believe it's salmon. And also, haven't you forgotten about little ol' me?"

Bora flapped a hand at her dismissively. "You're just some female, and we all known that females are weak, whether or not their mages."

The smile on Lucy's face instantly slid off and she stood ramrod straight. "What was that?..."

Laughter came from Bora who wasn't even looking at the blonde. "Females are weak trash who are only good for being maids and a quick shag."

"That's it." Lucy snarled at the disgusting man. "You're fucking dead."

She raised her hand with Cenas's key in it and slashed it downwards, a flash of light emitting from it. The glow died down and revealed the leather vested torso of a handsome, dark male that blended into the hindquarters of a chestnut horse.

Cenas let a smirk cross his face as he took in Lucy's angry expression. "So who was the idiot that either insulted us spirits or females in general?"

The celestial pointed at Bora who was watching his men start to beat up on the pink haired mage who was still comatose on the ground. "This dickwad has insulted women! Take the stupid cannon fodder, and I'll take him down old school style!"

"As you wish Lucy-chan."

The centaur calmly drew his bow from the quiver on his back and notched several arrows. "It has been a while since I have had target practice." He cantered into the throng of men and began firing arrows off faster than the eye could see.

"Don't hit the dofus getting bashed in the centre Cenas!" Lucy called over her shoulder before drawing a dagger in her left hand and hefting her sword in her right. "Let's get wild!"

She leapt forward and slashed down at Bora's exposed back, but the mage had been faking paying attention and easily darted to the side to avoid it. Lucy followed after him, the knife flashing in a stab that was deflected by the purple flames that sprung up around Bora's body.

"You think that you could defeat the great Salamander of Fairy Tail whelp?!" Bora flung a stream of flames at Lucy which were deflected by her sword.

"Don't lie to me!" She yelled at him before lashing out in a front kick to the chest that slammed Bora back from her. "You are not Salamander of Fairy Tail! You're just a two-bit fire mage who stole the name!" Lucy panted lightly from her rage before flicking the dagger in a throw that pinned some of Bora's gaudy clothes to a wall of the ship. "And who even says whelp anymore?!"

"Stay back!" Bora raised his hands up in front of his face, traces of fear in his eyes. "I-I'm a great and powerful fire mage that can defeat you whenever he wants!"

Lucy sighed lightly as she stood in front of him, "don't lie to me."

There was a flash of light, followed by another.

* * *

Happy was rather confused.

He knew that Natsu wouldn't be able to fight very well since the ship was a form of transport, but Natsu had still asked him to fly them across. Apparently that creepo from early was saying that he was from Fairy Tail, but Happy hadn't seen him around the guild before. The creepo was lying!

Natsu had asked Happy to drop him right above the roof of the ship, saying it would be a cool entrance. Happy had obliged, and had watched as Natsu had landed, looked awesome, looked lame, and got beaten up by a bunch of goons.

But what the hell was up with the horse thing!

Happy was watching the goons beat up Natsu and debating whether or not he should go in and save him; when suddenly, arrows began flying out of nowhere and taking the men down.

Then a horse-man walked? Cantered? In.

"What the hell are you?!"

The horse-man glanced up through the hole in the roof to see a blue cat with white wings staring down at him. "I'm a celestial spirit. What the hell are you?"

"I'm a cat!" Happy said angrily, "can't you tell."

Cenas merely blinked at him. "First cat I've seen that could fly." He then turned away from the cat and picked up the groaning Natsu that was still trying not to throw up.

Happy began to get nervous as the horse-man began to walk away with Natsu slung over his shoulders. "Hey! What are you doing with Natsu!"

"My summoner simply wishes to see if he is alright."

The horse-man began to walk away from the cat, going further into the room and out of Happy's view.

Happy had no choice but to follow.

He floated over the unconscious bodies of the men the horse-man had defeated. The room wasn't even destroyed at all, something that was rare when Natsu was around.

Or any Fairy Tail member for that matter.

The horse-man suddenly stopped and stared at something. Happy followed his gaze to see the blonde from earlier on that day dressed in weird clothes and fighting against the creepo with swords, just like Erza.

Happy shivered slightly, he just hoped that she wasn't as scary as Erza.

"This is not going to end well…"

Happy looked curiously at the horse-man before turning back to the fight. The blonde had thrown a dagger with surprising accuracy and had the creepo pinned against the wall. She then raised the sword to the side, her stance more rigid than before.

"Oh heavens…" Sighed the horse-man as he stared at the scene with sad eyes. "Not again Lucy-chan."

Happy didn't know what he meant, but then the blonde swung her sword for the creepo's neck.

"What is she doing!"

The bright flash of the sword curving through the air was overshadowed by the golden flash that appeared next to it. The flash died down to reveal the sword inches away from the creepo's neck, held their by a fluffy orange tail. The blonde simply held the sword as she stared at the spirit that had appeared before her.

It was a busty red-haired woman in a light orange kimono who possessed orange and black tipped, furry ears and a foxy tail that was curving around the sword. Her fox ears were right on top of her long red hair and the bangs from the hair slightly shadowed her slanted indigo eyes.

"Hello mistress," the fox-woman smirked.

* * *

Lucy grip slowly relaxed on the blade as she studied the woman in front of her. "Vulpecula, the little fox I presume. I wonder how you managed to open your gate when we haven't made a contract."

The fox-woman, now known as Vulpecula, giggled lightly behind a hand. "Oh that's cute mistress! Opening gates is easy for spirits whose summoner has enough magic power, or is a big enough beacon that we can easily open a gate by our own magic. And mistress, the magic you always have surrounding you is a big enough beacon that spirits whose keys you don't possess can feel it."

A nod of understanding came from the blonde, "fair enough. What days are you available Vulpecula? And what abilities to you have available?"

"Call me Vulp," giggled the spirit. "I would be more than happy to be summoned any time, us silver keys don't get much of a chance to be summoned you know? And as for my abilities…I am able to use illusions to deceive, trick and exploit my summoners' opponents. I am also able to raise the level of my summoners' sex appeal!"

Lucy blanched slightly, "yeah…I don't think the second ability is really needed."

"Of course not!" Vulp clapped her hands excitedly, "you're already one sexy woman! That leather vest! The tight material! Ohhh wow~"

"We don't need you having a moment in here Vulp," deadpanned Lucy. "Really not needed."

"Uh," Bora interrutpted them meekly. "What about me?"

The sword was hovering right next to his throat and the man was not very comfortable with a weapon that could easily kill being so close.

Not comfortable _at all_.

"Oh yeah." Lucy laughed nervously as she retracted the sword, "sorry about trying to kill you. I guess I'm so use to killing off bandits and other scum like that out in the wild that I forgot that there were laws and crap that didn't let you kill people, and stuff like that." She laughed nervously again before sheathing the sword completely. "I guess I'll hand you over to the authorities, along with your cannon fodder." She paused slightly, "and I guess I should go find those other chicks that you put to sleep to sell off."

"How?..." Bora looked at her, dumbfounded. How had she known that he had done all those things?! This bitch was obviously more powerful than he had originally thought.

Lucy didn't acknowledge the word from Bora and rummaged underneath her clothes until she withdrew her hands with a coil of rope in them.

"How?.." Bora stared at her in bewilderment.

The fox-woman next to him tapped him on the nose lightly. "It's called being a woman! We have many mystical powers that men like you will never understand!"

Bora couldn't reply as he was busy with being trussed up by the blonde mage.

* * *

Cenas let out a sigh as he watched his summoner calmly truss up the villain they had been fighting. "Thank the heavens she didn't kill him."

Happy looked at him worriedly, "she actually would've killed him?!"

"Of course," came the reply. "That's what you do if you wish to survive on the roads and the wild. Sometimes you have to kill in order to stay safe."

The blue cat didn't reply as looked after the blonde who was disappearing behind a door, apparently going to wake up the other captive females.

There was a prolonged silence between the two spirits, villain, and cat left in the room. That was, until Vulp spoke up.

"How the hell are we going to get back to the port?"

* * *

"That was actually a lot easier than expected," Lucy commented as she watched the law enforcers of Hargeon drag away Bora as well as he accompanying cannon fodder. "I just wish that I could get a single word of thanks from _anyone_! It's not like I didn't save those women from being sex slaves, and yet they have the audacity to blame me for ruining their chances with the 'Salamander!' What bitches." The blonde continued to grumble as she made her way away from the chaos that had erupted around the port of Hargeon after she had managed to turn the ship around and sail it back to the port. Members of the public had quickly grabbed the nearest law enforcers after Lucy had explained the situation, and Bora and his men were quickly being locked up for their bad deeds. The women kidnapped were all being comforted and getting ready to head back to their homes.

Meanwhile, Lucy was currently kicking the ground softly as she walked away from the scene. She had done a good deed tonight, and she guessed that was good enough. Yet, her main objective…That was an entirely different story. Natsu and Happy had been lost in the chaos after she had Cenas place the still out-of-it mage on the ground out of the way. Happy had sat next to him as she sent Cenas and Vulp back to the spirit world, then losing the two Fairy Tail mages in the throngs of people that had come from nowhere.

"Guess I'll never join a guild," Lucy muttered as she made her way around a corner of a street that led away from the port. "Maybe it would be better if I helped from the shadows…But Lucy's dream…"

"HEY! HEY BLONDE CHICK!"

Lucy froze at the loud bellow resounding from behind her.

"AYE~ WAIT UP BLONDE CHICK!"

Said blonde chick turned to see a grinning Natsu racing towards her with a floating Happy in tow.

"Oh," she said, rather surprised. "Hello Salamander."

Natsu ruffled his hair slightly before turning up the grin to full beam. "I heard you saved all those people on the ship and defeated the bastard who said he was from Fairy Tail! So…um, yeah. Thanks a bunch!"

Lucy narrowed her eyes slightly, this did not sound like something Natsu would normally say. He was being much to kind to her, he was rather brash and bordering rude when he first met Lucy. What was he playing at?

"That is quite alright Salamander. I was simply suspicious of Bora's ring charms he wore and apprehended him like any other wizard would do." Lucy bobbed her head slightly, "it was really nothing."

"Nothing!" Natsu slipped an arm around Lucy's shoulders and continued to grin at her, "Happy told me you totally pummelled that bastard! Well, I could've totally done it easily! But that was a nice job for a-"

"If you're about to say what I think you're about to say Salamander," said Lucy dangerously. "I will make you a female permanently!"

Nervous laughter emanated from Natsu as he tightened his arm around Lucy, "I was just joking! Besides, just call me Natsu!"

"Lucy." The blonde's mouth twitched in a smile, "what is it that you wish from me Natsu?"

The dragon slayer slid his arm from around her shoulders and gripped her arm tightly. He began to pull her along, Lucy stumbling slightly before quickly catching up to him. "What are you doing Natsu?"

Natsu turned to face her with a massive grin on his face. "I heard you wanted to join a guild!"

* * *

**Shazzam!**

**Finished like the actual episode does, but without Lucy, Natsu and Happy running from Royal guards.**

**Actually, it's nothing like the original storyline. This is officially an AU I believe.**

**Awesome!**

**If there's anything I've gotten wrong here (I haven't re-watched the series in like six months) then just tell me! It's awesome that I already have nearly ten reviews, it's been a pleasure to write for this fandom. It's one of those anime that isn't massively talked about, yet everyone seems to have watched it.**

**Aye for Fairy Tail!**

**And Lucy in the newest chapters! Did not see that coming! She's basically Aquarius now! Mind fucked, really.**

**Anyway, shakka to you all and peace out!**


	5. The Fairy Tail

**Hello my lovelies! **

**My wizard god! So many reviews, like shazaam!**

**Thanks so much guys, really.**

**HERE'S FAIRY TAIL! HOLY SHIZNIT!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_Not Wendy's beautiful hair! It's non-existent, just like my ownership of this anime/manga! Oh, I also don't own any shows/muscials/movies/books referenced_

**Warning: **_Language and traces of Tia being a geek_

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

Cocking my head slightly, I gazed up at the familiar (in my previous life) building in front of me. The words Fairy Tail were emblazed above the entrance and I could hear loud crashes and raucous laughter coming from inside.

Yep. I was definitely at Fairy Tail.

"So what do you think Luigi?"

I was hard pressed to keep a smile down at Natsu's casual remark. The little guy thought he could make me angry by saying my name wrong did he? The idiot knew my name, we had been travelling together for three days to get here, he freaking **knew **my name. The experience to the guild made sure of that.

Although the experience was pretty horrific in a sense.

It went something along the lines of…

* * *

"We'll go by train. It'll be quicker than walking."

"WE ARE **NOT **GOING BY TRAIN!"

"What do you mean Salamander? Scared of a little rocking motion?"

"Shut up! I liked it better when you didn't talk!"

"Aye!"

"No one asked your opinion Happy."

"WAAAHH! Lucy's mean! Tell her off Natsu!"

"You sicken me cat."

"Don't be mean to Happy you-! You-! You…blond."

"Blond? Oooohhhh, I'm _so _scared. What'cha gonna do _Pinky_? You gonna flash-fry me with your little flames?"

"I'LL FRICKING ROAST YOU!"

* * *

Yeah, not the best experience.

But we survived the three day trip (and each other) with no casualties. The only thing of importance was that I took a sheet from Erza's book and knocked Natsu out. I was considering doing what Lucy supposedly does and like, stroke his hair or something, but he was an ass. Therefore I slammed one of my luggage bags into his head and he was out like a light!

And so, I was finally standing in front of the place I had been working towards for a year now. It had been painful at parts, fun at others, but sweet mother of Kami, I was-

"Are you just going to stand there Luigi, or are we going in?"

Natsu's answer came in a fist slamming down on his head.

I dusted my hands lightly as the salmon-haired boy whimpered melodramatically behind me. I then cracked my knuckles, hefted my bags securely over my shoulders, looked over my battle outfit, then solidly slammed my hands against the door and flung them open.

The ruckus of the guild quietened down slightly as the cannon fodder turned their gaze from each other to me. There was an almost awkward pause of silence that stretched out for a while (why wouldn't there be? I totally waltzed in like I owned the place), that was, until a catcall came from the back.

"A medieval cosplayer?! Princess, you can get slayed by my dragon tonight!"

I scowled in the general direction of the asshole. "You wish fucktard! You're dragon's more like a little skink. At least, that's what your mum told me!"

"**OOOHHHHH!**"

There was a collected outtake of air as many members looked between the obvious asshole and me. I guess they were hoping for a battle to break out or something.

_Wizard battle! _

_Wizard duel!_

_Scared Potter?_

_You wish._

I'm such a nerd.

The angry-red face of a non-descript man glared hatefully at me through a parting in the crowd. "You crazy ass bitch! Wanna say that to my face?!"

"I would!" I called back. "But I don't want to get too close in case I catch your ugliness!"

Another pause stretched out, longer this time. I glared determinedly at the faces around me, I wouldn't show weakness!

Boy, was I surprised when the whole guild began to ring with laughter.

Both men and women were doubled over in laughter and several calls came from around me. This time, not in a sexual way.

"This one definitely has some of Fairy Tails' fighting spirit in her!"

"She's a keeper for sure!"

"You just got beat by a girl Riko!"

I blinked slightly before a smile began to creep over my face. Fairy Tail was even awesomer when you were there in real-life! Or anime-life. Whatever.

"What's your business here girly?"

My attention was brought to an older woman by her question. The woman wore a hat that was doffed at a jaunty angle and a smirk played around her lips.

I blinked again before answering. "Well, it's a long story, but the long story made short; I found a plot in Hargeon with some dumbass called Bora who was pretending to be the Salamander running the show–A real idiot I tell you. I then met your Salamander looking for his dragon in a crowded town–Again, idiot–and at some point in between then and now I managed to beat up the phoney-as-fuck Salamander and fix the whole bad guy plot up. Then your dumbass swept me away to join here. Sound like him at all?"

The woman took a moment to process the spew of information I gave her, but then nodded firmly. "That sounds like our resident idiot. On the track of Natsu, where is he?"

I gave a shrug in answer. "I slammed him over the head before I got here, he's probably still outside having a sulk."

A chuckle echoed from the woman before she waved a dismissive hand. "You're alright to join the guild girly, just go over to Mirajane and explain your funky story. She'll fix you up easy."

"Thanks." I bowed my head slightly in gratitude and made my way over to the bar, shrugging off the grabbing arms and needless questions of the other members of the guild."

A flash of white caught my attention and I slipped through the crowd to come face-to-face with Mirajane Strauss.

"Hello!" She smiled softly at me. "You must be the new girl who wishes to join the guild. I heard that Natsu brought you here."

"Yes." I agreed with a bob of my head. Information gets around _quick _here! "Salamander has…_kindly offered _to bring me to this guild to join. I hope that isn't of any inconvenience to you or your guild master. Is there any qualifications I am required to take in order to join this establishment?"

Mirajane giggled with a hand covering her mouth. "My, my, such politeness! We never usually get such manners around here."

A loud crash sounded behind me. "WHO WAS THE BASTARD THAT TOLD ME THAT IGNEEL WAS IN HARGEON?!"

"Politeness is always associated to professionalism." I replied steadily, ignoring the sounds of fighting that began behind me. "And professionalism is something I believe strongly in."

Mirajane's smile turned to a more knowing one. "Well, if you want, this guild could become your family. There would be no need for any cold looks, or masks of indifference. Everyone has a pretty ugly past in here, yet we still smile and bear it. How? Because out nakama are right beside us, bearing the pain with you." Her smile of happiness appeared on her face again. "Just a little info for you as a new member of our guild!"

My lips curved up and broke apart into one of the biggest smiles I had experienced in a while. "That info is my pleasure to take in Mirajane-san."

"Oh," Mirajane waved her hand, "just Mirajane if you please! I didn't get your name though…"

"Lucy. Just Lucy if you may."

"Okay just Lucy." A stamp was suddenly brandished in Mirajane's right hand. "Where do you want your guild mark?"

I paused, I hadn't thought about this. Lucy had hers on her hand in pink, to commemorate Natsu bringing her here. The only problem is, I despise pink and I'm not in love with Natsu.

Well fuck.

"Uhhh…." I said intelligently. Mirajane was looking at me expectantly, the stamp poised in her hand. "I want it…" An idea struck me, "can I have it on my collarbone? Just above my heart in…"

Red or purple? Red or purple? Shitshitshitshit…

"…Red." It'll match my hair.

Mirajane nodded happily before stopping, "I'm afraid your outfit is in the way."

And it was true. My vest and silk shirt covered at least half of the collarbone area where I wanted my stamp.

I shrugged easily, "that's not a problem." Slipping off the belt that held my sword and keys, I tugged off the rigid vest that was moulded exactly for my body and began to pull off my silk shirt. It didn't have any elastic in it and it was skin tight, I couldn't just tug it down away from my collarbone.

"Lucy!" Gasped Mirajane and pulled my hand away from the hem of my shirt. "If you need to do that, come into the back, we have a private room for that exact reason."

"It's cool Mirajane." I tugged my hand back and began to pull up my shirt again.

"TAKE IT OFF BABY!"

"HUBBA HUBBA!"

Several catcalls echoed from around the hall, obviously distracted from the ongoing fight by the chance of seeing a new girl's skin.

A grin covered my face. Absolute idiots.

I pulled my shirt over my head with a flourish and laughed out loud at many of the men's groans of disappointment.

"You bind your chest?" Mirajane studied the cream bandages that bound my chest and lower ribs tightly.

"Yep!" I replied chirpily. "Now lay it on me Mirajane!"

The woman nodded and pressed the stamp to my collarbone. I expected some sort of pain, but there was none, only a spray of sparkles and I now had a tattoo!

"Awesome-sauce!" I poked at the skin with a smile on my face. "Thanks Mirajane!"

"Just call me Mira," she giggled in reply. "You seem a lot happier and relaxed than before Lucy."

I pondered this fact for a moment and found that she was right. I was calm and relaxed, even in a place that I had never _actually _been to before. Maybe it was the fact that I wasn't in the middle of nowhere and expecting some bandits to attack. Or maybe it was the first sense of familiarity I had seen in a year. Or I was just happy that I had finally gotten to my goal.

"Yeah," I agreed, "I expect I'll be happy here."

A sudden crashing noise interrupted my thoughts and I could sense something lunging towards me. Without thinking, I grabbed the arm of the person behind me and swung them bodily over my shoulder before launching them across the guild.

When I let go of the person, I realised what I had done. "Oh no!" I tugged at my hair in horror. "I'm so, so, sorry!"

"Ha **HA**! Suck on that popsicle!"

I spun around to see Natsu laughing and pointing at whoever I had thrown. "Don't take credit for something you didn't do asshole!" I swung my fist at Natsu and surprisingly he caught it.

He blinked at me casually before offering a toothy grin. "Oh hi Lucy. What's up?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Soon to be you!"

"Wha-?"

A snapping kick straight underneath his chin caught him off guard and he catapulted up into the air. "That's what you get for taking credit for Lucy's takedowns you flaming idiot!"

"My, my." Mira held her head in her hand and tilted the appendage at me. "I think you'll fit in quite easily here Lucy. Already taking down Natsu and Gray."

"Gray?"

"Ow flame-for-brains! That was a solid throw!...Not that it means you're good or anything!" A half-naked teenager with dark, spiky hair pulled himself out of a dent in the wall, cracked his neck nonchalantly and then swivelled it around in a searching matter. "Now where did that idiot go?"

A loud yelling was heard and Gray looked up, only for Natsu to come down with a crash right on top of him.

I winced slightly, "that's going to hurt tomorrow."

There was a comical dust cloud around the two males, but that quickly cleared when the two began to fight each other.

"Damn you slanted eyes! You're an asshole for dropping in on me like that!"

"Well _excuse me _droopy eyes! I'm _so _sorry that you can't handle a little kick from above."

"That wasn't a kick! You **fell **on me!"

"Well maybe if you weren't standing there, you wouldn't have been injured!"

"You're the one who threw me into the wall!"

"I didn't do that! Lucy did!"

"Who the fuck is Lucy?!"

The fight paused when Natsu took one of his hands that were strangling Gray and pointed towards me. I waved sheepishly at the two who were staring at me intently. "Hello?"

Gray suddenly burst out laughing, "that skinny, little chick couldn't break a twig! Let alone throw _me _across the room!"

I pushed down the anger that flared with that sexist comment and called back to the asshole. "You just called yourself fat, fatass!"

The dark-haired teenager stood up gaudily and posed. "Do you think this is fat little girl?!"

Cocking my head to the side and putting a hand on my hip, I pretended to think over it carefully. "_Wweeeeeellllll…_"

Gray's eyebrows drew together into an angry expression. "You can't possibly be thinking over something as easy as me being a sexy hunk of muscle!"

I crossed the room quickly and stopped in front of the indignant Gray and the busily laughing Natsu. Leaning into his personal space, I prodded at him. Face, body, wherever I could to get him annoyed. "I don't know..." I muttered, "there's a little bit of pudginess here." I pulled at his face to finish my point, stretching out his cheeks to outrageous levels.

"Qwuit iht!" Gray's possibly scarily angry voice came out as an adorable garble that both Natsu and I had the pleasure of laughing at.

"Ice cube sounds like the little baby he is!" Natsu doubled over, wracked with laughter. "Oh god! This is good!"

A scowl crossed Gray's stretched out face and he quickly slapped my hands away from his face. "You can't call _me _fat blondey! You can't call me out when you're chubby!"

Laughter erupted from my mouth again. "You called me skinny just before! And," I gestured at my currently unclothed-yet-I-still-had-bandages-covering-my-chest torso, "can you _really _call this chubby?"

And he couldn't. Working my body to the max physically in both martial arts and sword fighting had toned Lucy's slightly soft body. The soft porcelain skin she had displayed so proudly during the series was gone. My skin was a much darker shade after constantly being out in the sun and training in only my bandages. The sunburn had hurt, but my skin now had a healthy glow. Lucy's flawless skin had long been marred, small scars crisscrossed my torso. My favourite though, was the one that was a stark and angry red against my skin, stretching widely across my right side. It almost stretched far enough to scar my proud six-pack.

"Holy shit…" Breathed Gray as he took in the white scars that crossed my body and my toned abdomen. "How the hell did you get those scars? Actually, how the fuck are you ripped?"

"Training my dear boy," I grinned. "I work more in physical strength, magical power and flexibility than anything else, so it shows! Oh, my sword fighting as well. I can't forget my beloved sword."

"It's like an Erza-copy!" Gray gasped in horror. "Please have mercy on my virgin soul!"

"HA! Gray's a virgin!" Natsu laughed mockingly at Gray who easily turned with a comeback already on his lips. "I bet you don't even know what a virgin is idiot!"

The salmon-haired teenager stopped his laughter, "uhhh."

"Snap, snap." I muttered.

"So who the hell are you anyway?"

I quirked an eyebrow at Gray's blunt question. "Lucy. I'm the newest guild member after Salamander there dragged me here after I cleaned up the mess in Hargeon."

"You were involved in that smuggling business in Hargeon?" Asked a surprised Gray. "I heard in the newspaper that a wizard had dealt with that Bora dude and had saved those chicks on board. They offered a reward you know? They couldn't find the culprit and so they put an advertisement in the newspaper to find out who the wizard was and I heard that heaps of people tried to get the reward, but Bora told them who the wizard looked like and they all got thrown away. You could collect the reward." Gray broke off and turned his head stubbornly, "not like I believe you could actually defeat a wizard like that asshole Bora. I heard he was strong, strong enough to claim to be part of Fairy Tail and not be questioned. So there's no way that a prissy, little girl like you could've defeated him!"

I rolled my eyes at Gray's melodramatic finish, but was surprised about what he had told me about a reward. Maybe I could go pick that reward up whenever I get a job nearby.

"Lucy's plenty strong!" Chipped in a happy again Natsu. "She totally kicked that bastard's ass! She was all like, 'surrender bastard!' And he was all like, 'never!' And then she nearly cut his head off! At least, that's what Happy said…"

"'Cause you were totally out of it." I finished for him. "The noob got travel-sickness, so I had to bust his ass out of there _and _beat up the big baddie."

"What the hell is a noob?" Asked Gray.

I threw my hands up in exasperation. They ask really stupid questions around here! I mention having swords and nearly cutting people's heads off and they don't question me about any of my magic abilities or the fact that I am armed. Stupid Fiore people.

"**QUIET DOWN YOU UNGRATEFUL BRATS!**"

I started at the loud booming voice from behind me. Turning, I came face to…foot with a huge black creature that towered over everyone, brushing the ceiling with its massive girth.

"Hello Master!"

Mirajane's soft voice sounded loud in the silence that came after Makarov's shouting.

I couldn't hear what Mirajane said next as Natsu and Gray were floundering manically behind me, but I watched calmly as the hulking monster shrunk into a little, old man who was one of the most powerful wizards in Fiore.

"Ugh, I'm too old for this crap."

Mirajane giggled – she seems to do that a lot – at Makarov's disgruntled mutter. "You know Master, we have a new girl in the guild today." She looked over at me and beckoned me to her. "Her name is Lucy and Natsu was the one who brought her in."

"Natsu huh?" Muttered Makarov, "he didn't cause any destruction while doing so?"

"No," I replied for Mirajane. "I had the situation under control Makarov-san."

The old mans' eyebrows rose up as he caught sight of me approaching him. For a second, I could see a calculating glint in his dark eyes before they were covered up by – those kami-damned, freaking – love hearts.

"Oh baby!" He crowed as his eyes roamed over my body. "One hot babe in the guild! You can definitely join!"

"I'm so glad," I said dryly as I gathered up my shirt, vest and belt. "I've already joined and it would be very sad to have joined for barely ten minutes."

Makarov began to laugh boisterously, "hot and witty! You'll fit in perfectly here Lucy!"

"Everyone seems to be saying that Makarov-san." I pulled on my shirt and vest, sliding the belt that crossed my torso after.

"Of course," said Makarov. "Everyone who enters this building has a place in this guild. Whether you are poor, rich, sad, weak, strong or proud. Fairy Tail always has its doors open." The serious look that had crossed his face during that mini speech disappeared almost instantly. "And none of that Makarov-san crap ether, call me Master."

I bowed my head slightly, "I would be honoured."

"So polite," he chuckled as he walked away. "Why can't anybody else in this guild be like that?" He shook his head before leaping up to the balcony above, smashing into it much like he did in the series.

I put on an interested face and blanked out his speech, I had heard it so many times before that I didn't really need to hear it. The only part that caught my attention was when he threw the flaming paperwork at Natsu to eat after he proclaimed that he 'didn't care what the magic council thought!' He was full of bullshit sometimes. I distinctly remember him crying when they came to question him after Phantom Lord.

"We are Fairy Tail!"

A collective roar echoed around me as everyone except Mirajane and I put their hands up in the Fairy Tail sign. It was kind of cool really, being in a place where no one would attack me at any moment. Even in my first life I was constantly being jumped by gang members.

So troublesome…

The thought hadn't finished before a keg full of alcohol smashed into the back of my head and ploughed me into the ground.

The ringing in my ears died enough for me to hear an outraged scream that hurt my head even more.

"THAT WAS MY ALCOHOL YOU BASTARD!"

* * *

"Are you sure you're alright Lucy-chan?"

The icepack on my head twitched slightly before I smiled reassuringly at Lyra who was hovering anxiously next to me. "I'm fine Lyra, really. The keg just surprised me. I'm happier that I managed to get the smell of booze off me."

Lyra pouted slightly before checking the huge bump on my head for any more blood. "I still think you should go to a hospital Lucy-chan. You might be concussed."

I began to shake my head before I realised that it made my head throb even more. "It's _okay _Lyra, I'll just relax a while..At my new apartment!"

The spirit giggled at my excitement, "it sure is amazing to get a place at such a cheap price Lucy-chan!"

The smile on my face doubled in size. I had found the apartment where Lucy had in the series and managed to haggle the price down a thousand or so jewels. I think it was mostly the fact that I was bleeding sluggishly from the head and looked ready to pass out that the landlady had taken pity on me and let me have the apartment for a cheaper price.

Injuries were awesome!

…When they didn't hurt too much.

"Lie down Lucy-chan," murmured Lyra soothingly as she took the icepack from me. She gently pushed me down on the futon she had found in one of the cupboards and tucked the fur blanket she had made from my kills under my chin.

Her usual lyre appeared in her hands and she began to strum them in a soft melody.

"_Fukishi tsunasa bokura no chikyuu wa  
Kirameita toki wo nazotte dekita  
Mizu sabaku ni dekitara guu to  
Tada aeteiru nokosarete ikimono…"_

* * *

**And done!**

**So that was Tia's introduction into Fairy Tail. I only introduced Gray, Mira and Makarov so that it wasn't a giant mess where a person went ten minutes without being mentioned.**

**It was also a whole heap different than the canon, I don't really know why exactly, but I hoped it worked.**

**And Tia won't have a massive pole up her ass anymore! She'll be fairly trusting and all that jazz.**

**And Lyra's song this time was Glitter, ending eleven and one of my all time favourites of the series. Like seriously, how amazing is it? Japanese music is the best...**

**Sooooo, love peace and bring the beat.**

**SunMoon Kunoichi out y'all.**


	6. God damn Vulcans!

**Nice and quick update isn't it? Don't get used to it.**

**Thanks to all of those lovely reviews and a special shout out to MEleeSmasher who has had stimulating ideas for this story. Thanks a bunch!**

**Now on with the story.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_PSHT! If I was writing this crap, would I own FT?_

**Warning: **_The usual of language and violence_

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

A ponytailed blond with red tips hummed uncertainly as she stared at the job board in front of her. There was such a large collection of missions to do and she had no clue where to start looking. It was impossible to choose one best suited for her. Why wasn't there any jobs that needed bandits to be beaten up or killed? Tia knew she was good at that.

"This might be a job for you."

Lucy blinked as a flyer was placed into her view, a strangely tanned hand holding onto it firmly. Following the hand up into an arm and eventually to a face, Lucy gave a soft smile at the man who was holding the flier.

"Nab right?"

The man now known as Nab nodded and handed her the flier. "I can tell you're wanting something more based on violence from the way you're not looking at the mundane missions, this one is something that has been sitting on the board for some time."

Taking the flier, Lucy scanned over the information and nearly laughed at the coincidence. "I think this is perfect Nab. Thank you very much."

Nab laughed lightly and clapped her on the back, "it was my pleasure to help out whoever is in need. Jobs are what I'm best at helping out in, just don't get hurt okay?"

"I wouldn't dream of it."

A loud slamming of the door behind them drew the pair's attention to the opening of the guild door. A small boy's figure was framed in the doorway as he paused at the threshold before determinedly running past Tia and Nab towards the bar.

"Master! Master!"

Makarov looked down from the tankard of ale he was drinking to the dark-haired boy below. "Oh, Romeo, what is it?"

"My daddy." Romeo let out a choking sound and gripped his green shirt desperately. "My dad hasn't come home from his mission yet and it's been days! I want someone to go check up on him!"

"Romeo." Makarov closed his eyes as if in pain. "Macao will be fine. He's a strong mage who has taken it upon himself to finish his mission. He's strong enough that there would be no problems in his undertaking of this job, the idiot's probably gotten himself stuck in a snowdrift or something."

"No!" Now Romeo began to sniffle softly and cry. "My dad said he wouldn't take very long, a day at most. I'm worried he isn't okay. What if he's hurt?!"

Makarov went to reply to the child's questions when a slim hand grasped Romeo's shoulder gently.

"Romeo, right?"

The boy sniffled slightly and looked up at the blond who was crouching down beside him. He had never seen this member before, he would've remembered the red-tipped hair or her large brown eyes. He especially would've remembered an outfit as interesting as hers. More specifically, the wicked sword slung over her back.

"Yeah. Who are you?"

Lucy smiled reassuringly at the boy. "Mine name's Lucy and I joined recently. I was about to go on my first mission as a Fairy Tail mage and overheard your conversation." She stood upright and handed the flier in her hand to Makarov. "This mission would be best suited to my abilities and this situation."

Makarov studied the flier before handing it to a nearby Mirajane. "Write up this mission under Lucy's job log."

Mirajane also studied the flier, throwing a worried glance at Lucy before hurrying around the bar counter to write it up.

"I guess I'll be off to complete my mission." Lucy offered a wave at Makarov and patted Romeo's head before making her way out of the guild."

"What's happening with my dad?" Romeo was a bit confused at what had happened. That Lucy girl had said she was going on a mission but hadn't said much more than that. What was the point of informing him?"

"Lucy's job will give her an excuse to check up on your lazy father." Grumbled Makarov as he sculled more ale. "I'm too old for this crap."

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

Humming an absent tune that I think I had heard Lyra sing before, I made my way out of Magnolia on foot. I didn't like transport that much and I had developed a strong liking of walking on my own two feet. Travelling around for ten months on foot gets you used to the concept.

Reaching a hand up to my pouch sewn into my belt, I withdrew a key at random before slashing it down the air.

"Pu-pun~"

Plue danced happily around my feet as I continued to walk. He was such a sweetheart. I finally knew why Lucy had always summoned him to walk with, he was a rather uplifting and comfortable partner to walk with.

Several people waved happily to me before I crossed out of the border of Magnolia and into the roads that led away from the town. Everyone in this world seemed a lot more trusting and kinder than those back home. Or that could just be the whole, trust no one or else you'll be backstabbed complex I have going on.

"Pun…"

I laughed as Plue spun around in circles and continued to dance. "You are an amazing dancer Plue!"

"You weirdo. Talking to things like that."

It took all my self-control not to scream and draw my sword. Instead, I flinched slightly and turned to see a grinning Natsu and a floating Natsu approaching me from Magnolia.

"Let me guess." I put a hand on my hip and settled for a disgruntled look. "Mira asked you to come keep an eye on me. Right?"

Natsu shrugged slightly and slung an arm over me, involuntary turning me and leading me away. "Something along the lines. She said something about keeping you warm but I have no clue what she meant by that."

I slipped out of his hold and crossed my arms, walking alongside him as Happy settled contently on my head. "You're a fire mage dumbass, your body runs at high temperatures all the time so you don't feel the cold. People like me don't have a built in heater so we need to have other means to keep warm."

Wrinkling his nose at my comment, Natsu replied. "Well you aren't wearing anything warm. That's just stupid."

"Says the guy with only a vest and pants on." I retorted.

"I have a scarf on! What's your excuse?"

Happy's tail tickled my neck as it drooped down, wrapping it around my neck I answered him. "I actually like the cold, heat totally sucks. I'll be fine, I've suffered worse."

"Worse than snow?" Natsu raised an incredulous eyebrow at me."

"Yep." I watched Plue attempt to keep up with us with his short legs before taking pity and scooping him up, mindful of the now sleeping happy on my head. "If you've ever slept on the street in only a shirt and shorts, you've had worse."

Ignoring Natsu's confused look, I quickened my pace slightly. "C'mon slowpoke. I would like to get to mount whatever-the-fuck-it-is before I grow old."

"You're already old!"

"I'm barely seventeen fucktard."

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

Natsu sent several sneaky looks at his travelling companion who was walking just in front of him. He barely knew this weirdo but he already thought her as a friend. She was now part of his Nakama and seemed like an alright person. If someone can like dragons nearly as much as him, they were alright by him.

"Quit looking at me."

Natsu involuntarily started at Lucy's sudden comment, but she hadn't turned her gaze from the path they had been taking up the mountain for the past hour. A blizzard had kicked in not long ago but the blond didn't show a sigh of slowing down. She just tucked her hands into her sleeves, put Happy in her leather vest and dispelled a more violently shivering Plue.

"Who the hell said I was staring at you?!"

Lucy shot him a knowing grin before squinting back into the onslaught of freezing snowflakes and forging on.

The Dragon Slayer wasn't cold at all, he could never feel the cold anyway, but he knew that other people had more of a problem with cold than him (barring Gray that little snowflake) and Lucy should've been frozen by now.

"Are you cold?"

The blond slowed her pace and dropped back to walk beside her companion. "Nah, I'm good. I regulate my magic all through my body and actually form a layer over my skin, it keeps the cold away to a degree. And I already said, I like the cold."

Now Natsu was confused, who in the name of Earthland liked the cold?!

"You're such a weirdo Lucy."

Again the blond shot him a grin, this time full of mirth. "I try my best…Natsu."

The two continued on in companionable silence, Natsu occasionally making passing comments about idle things.

"GRRRAAAHHHH!"

"Holy fuck!"

Lucy dived out of the way of the falling object and quickly rolled to her feet, drawing her sword as she did so. "Bloody, fucking Vulcan jumping out of nowhere!"

The object now identified as a mountain Vulcan roared at her before swinging a large fist at her. Lucy prepared to flip over the fist when a flash of black and pink blocked her view. "Damn it Natsu!"

The Dragon Slayer blocked the fist with his arms and lashed out with a flaming fist, launching the Vulcan a fair way back. "Fire dragons' fist!"

"I'm not a princess that needs to be protected!" Lucy clipped the idiot on the head as she dashed by, barely hearing the yelp of pain that followed through the howling blizzard. She hunched low to the ground and held her sword out wide, preparing for both attacking and defending if needed. "C'mon Macao you bastard," she muttered. "Show me what you've got."

The Vulcan roared in challenge again and leapt at the attacking blond. With quick reflexes, Lucy sprinted the last couple steps and then dropped into a slide that let her pass under the Vulcan. Before it could land, she quickly stepped up and spun, slashing at the creature with her sword.

There was a short scream in pain as blood flowed from a slice on the Vulcan's back. It landed awkwardly and brushed large fingers across the wound before roaring once more. This time, in pain.

"What's going on?"

Cursing softly, Lucy pulled the waking Happy off her head and threw it to a surprised Natsu. "Make sure you guys don't get caught up in this!"

Natsu went to answer but was drowned out by another howl of wind. He clenched Happy tightly so as to not let him blow away and settled for waiting for Lucy to weaken the Vulcan, then he would strike.

"Damn you stubborn bastard." Lucy spat to the side before sheathing her sword. "I can't use my sword because kill you, I guess I have to do this the old fashioned way." A smirk crossed her face as she lifted her fists in a brawler stance. "Finally, Tia style here we come."

Dashing forward, she met the mobile Vulcan head-on, powering her fist full of raw magic power before letting it smash against its face. The force of the punch carried her after the staggering Vulcan and she spun with the momentum of the punch, landing a solid roundhouse kick against its left leg.

The Vulcan lost its sense of balance and went down hard, a grunt emitting from its lips when it hit the ground. Taking advantage of its position, Lucy leapt into the air and raised her leg for a devastating axe kick that made its mark on the Vulcans' torso.

"…Damn." That was all Natsu could say as he watched his companion tear the Vulcan a new one with barely glowing golden fists. "What magic is that?"

Happy had no answer for him.

Lucy groaned slightly as she rolled off the Vulcan, "I think I tore a hamstring there. That'll hurt tomorrow." She wobbled a few steps before sitting down in the snow with a huff, not caring about the snow as she was already soaking wet.

"Lucy!"

She looked up at her waving companion, "what?!"

Natsu slid to a stop in front of her, his smile nearly splitting his face in half. "That was awesome! How'd you do that?! You were all like, 'bam! I'm gonna beat you Vulcan!' And the Vulcan was like, 'ROAR! NO YOU WON'T' But you totally beat him!"

The blond couldn't help but laugh at his excitement. "It didn't really happen like that, but okay Natsu, whatever you say!"

"Ugh, my head."

Both of the two Fairy Tail mages whipped around to see the Vulcan had disappeared, and in his place was a slightly gaunt man with purple hair.

"Macao you crazy bastard!" Natsu happily made his way over to the now not-possessed mage and hugged him. Or at least, tried to.

"He has serious injuries dumbass." Lucy held out an arm to stop him, "don't make it any more painful than it already is."

Natsu paused and took a moment to assess the condition of his fellow Nakama. He was covered in bruises and currently had blood dripping from between his hands that held his torso. The snow beneath him was slowly turning a dark pink, bordering on red. "Shit."

"Yes, shit." Lucy said patiently as she stood up and grabbed Macao under his arms. "Now can you find us a cave? It's nearly dark, we have an injured member of our party and it's still fucking snowing a storm!"

Nodding rapidly as to not anger her any more, Natsu turned to Happy for a lift. The cat sprouted wings and took off with the mage, managing to battle the storm in search for shelter.

"Are you an angel?"

Lucy grimaced at the delusional Macao who was burning up from fever. He had no shirt on and his pants were ripped, she had no clue how long he had been out of the Vulcan form on this mountain, but it was obviously enough to make him sick. She wasn't a medic of the gangs back home, that was the non-fighting chicks' jobs, but she knew he needed medical attention soon. He just needed to wait the night, it would be suicidal to try and get off this mountain in the dark.

"No I'm not Macao, I'm the newest member of Fairy Tail. My name's Lucy and I just joined…" Lucy began rambling to take both hers' and Macaos' mind off the situation at hand, if she could just get him on her back…

Not minding the blood she was getting on her clothes, Lucy shifted the man around so that he was draped over her back and supported somewhat comfortably.

'Don't summon your spirits Lucy.' She began to trudge slowly up the mountain and through the snow. 'You're not weak! Think of this as training! This is to help you get stronger for the events to come! This is physical training, so you can't use your magic! You've done it with your old body, you can do it in this one!'

Yelling her thoughts made Lucy feel more motivated, she picked up the pace and began to jog in the direction that Natsu and Happy had gone, mindful of her injured passenger who was staining her outfit red.

* * *

"If I wanted to, I'd kiss you right now Natsu in thanks." Lucy lay out across the ice floor of a cave Natsu had found and had led her to. She'd quickly fixed up Macao with Lyra's help and supplies before grabbing her animal skin blanket the spirit always had and set Macao up so he was warm and safe.

"Uh, no thanks?" Natsu didn't know how to reply to that so he left it alone.

"You like him~"

Lucy swatted lightly at Happy before curling up in a ball in the ground, "I could go to sleep right now."

She didn't care that her clothes were sticky with blood and that she looked like a crazy murderer, or that it was someone else's blood on her. When you've experienced this stuff before, you get used to it after a while.

"That's a good idea!" Natsu lit his fist and channelled a small stream of fire at the ground, melting a now warm dent into the ground. "Night Lucy!"

As he crawled into it, he was surprised to find Lucy tugging at his arm. "Make it bigger Natsu! You're meant to be my heater for this mission and you did jack-shit earlier so you might as well be useful now."

Natsu grumbled some things about how she hadn't let him do anything, but moved back out of the space and flared more flames into the dent to make it bigger. "Happy?"

Before Lucy could answer, he jumped into the now rather large hole, Happy fluttering down to curl up in his hair. Natsu made sure to take up all the room in the hole so that Lucy would be angry with him and maybe she would finally have a tantrum, but he was surprised when a warm weight lay on top of him.

"Night Natsu."

He peered down at the still slightly sticky blond that was now curled up on him, snuggling her head onto his chest. "What the hell are you doing Lucy?"

"Shhh…" Her eyes didn't open but her finger still found its way to his lips. "Heaters don't talk."

The fire mage was about to throw a fit to get a reaction from the blond when he felt Happy sleepily crawl off his head and wriggle down to her, curling up on her chest. The blond slowly stroked Happy and Natsu let out a grumble, "fine." He rolled slightly to the side so that the blond wasn't directly on top of him and closed his eyes, tucking his hands behind his head as a cushion.

Lucy hid her smile in Happy's fur and snuggled closer to the human heater and the fur ball that was keeping her chest warm.

'Best sleeping spot ever…'

* * *

Romeo stared down at the ground from the steps he was sitting on. He had waited until dark last night but neither Natsu-nii, that Lucy girl or his dad had returned. Upon waking up this morning, he had returned to the step that was near the outskirts of Magnolia.

'Dad mightn't be the greatest wizard, but he's better than all those other dads of those lame kids.' Romeo gritted his teeth angrily as he remembered the crude words of the bullies he had encountered before. "Dad'll show them! He went on a mission to kill all those Vulcans! I bet he took down ten! Or maybe twenty!'

"Romeo!"

The boy looked up to see Natsu-nii waving at him alongside Lucy, and both with their arms around…Dad!

"DAD!" Romeo leapt up from the steps and threw himself at his father's face, wrapping around it in a hug. "You're back! You're back!"

Macao laughed as he let go of Natsu and the new blond girl Lucy and returned his son's exuberant hug. "I told you I'd finish that mission." He leant in closer to Romeo with a gleam in his eyes, "and do you know how many Vulcans I defeated on Mount Hakobe?"

"How may?!"

"Twenty-nine, the last one slipped past me but these two helped me out." He nodded towards a proud looking Natsu and softly smiling Lucy. "Now you can tell those bullies that their dad's aren't as cool as yours! Your dad defeated twenty-nine Vulcans!"

The father and son began to chat excitedly among themselves, Lucy took the moment to gently tug Natsu away. "C'mon Natsu, we're not needed here right now."

Happy hurried after the two as they made their way back towards the guild in the early morning sun. "Are we going to find out what your mission was Lucy?"

The blond laughed as she looked at the cat floating beside her, "it was obviously to kill those Vulcans! Macao hadn't actually taken the notice off the request board, so we don't get paid!" She continued to laugh merrily and loudly.

"She's such a weirdo." Natsu muttered to Happy who nodded in agreement.

"NATSU-NII! LUCY-NEE! THANKS FOR SAVING MY DAD!"

The two mages and cat turned to an ecstatically waving Romeo, returning his wave just as cheerfully as he did.

"That was an awesome job. Don't you agree Natsu?"

"We're not getting paid for it…"

"Aye!"

* * *

**Finished in one afternoon and I updated this on Saturday, Mimic yesterday and then this again today! I'm on a roll baby!**

**So Tia and Natsu walked the entire way and that's why they met Macao/Vulcan later on and had to stay on the mountain overnight. And in the canon, how the fuck did they bandage Macao?! It was like, 'magic! We fixed him with no repercussions even though we have no medical training that you know of!'**

**Fucking Fiore people.**

**I wasn't too sure if Macao killed twenty-nine Vulcan but ah well…**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and all that jazz. Love y'all and stay coolio.**

**SunMoon.**


	7. Excuse me? Can I get some filler in this

**Hi again everyone!**

**I really have nothing to say either than thanks for your support! So let's get on with the story!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_Still don't own this, but I wish I did!_

**Warning: **_Tia's attitude and language_

* * *

**Lucy's P.O.V.**

The doors of Fairy Tail were wide open, so Natsu, Happy and I went straight through to tell Mirajane of our completion of the mission.

Not like we were getting paid or anything.

"Mirajane!" I called out to her where she was serving a man at the other end of the bar. She looked up and smiled at us before coming over. "Hello guys. Was the mission hard? You were up there all night."

"It was easy Mira!" Natsu clenched his fist and grinned at the barmaid. "As if some stinky Vulcans could give me a hard time!"

"But you did nothing Natsu…"

Natsu's head dropped at Happy's harsh, but truthful, comment. "Happy…You're meant to be on my side."

I couldn't help but laugh at his expression, him and the exceed were so funny together.

"Lucy!"

I looked up at Mirajane's shocked shout. "What is it Mirajane?"

She pointed at me with a shaking hand. "Your clothes! Is that blood all over them?!"

Looking down at my outfit, I realised that she was right. My creamy top was a faded red colour, bordering on pink, and my dark-coloured vest was exceedingly darker in places.

I rubbed my hands absently as I realised the also had dried blood on them. "Oh yeah, I should probably wash some of this stuff off. Macao was bleeding heavily when I picked him up and carried him, so it's expected that I might get a little of his blood on me."

"Little?!" Mirajane visible puffed up in rage before rounding on Natsu who had been pulling at my clothes. "You said you would take care of her! Natsu, how dare you fail in your obligations as a gentleman! Now this poor girl is covered in blood and has done all the hard work! I bet you didn't even keep her warm!" Mirajane emphasized each of her points by smacking Natsu over the head with a long wooden spoon she had pulled from her dress.

"It's okay Mirajane." I managed to say between my bouts of laughter. "I told him not to help me as I wished to test my fighting capabilities. And he did keep me warm last night. Just after I argued my points with him."

Mirajane looked unsatisfied with my reassuring, but let go off Natsu's vest which she was trying to strangle him with. "Fine, but Lucy, dear, you're not walking through the streets covered in blood and in a state like that! I can't believe no one raised the alarm as you walked in here! There's a shower in one of the back rooms, go get yourself cleaned up and I'll rummage up some clothes for you. Okay?"

I didn't have time to answer as the older girl came around the bar and led me off the stool, ushering me to a back room that I hadn't noticed before. "Take as long as you want Lucy!"

An unbidden smile crossed my face as I made extra sure to lock the door behind me – I knew how many perverts were in this guild! – Mirajane felt like…An older sister, or even sibling, that I had always wanted. Being the eldest out of two sisters was hard sometimes when your parents didn't pay you much attention, but I had never resented them. I only wished for an older sibling to help share the burden with.

"Nakama huh?" I leant against the door and closed my eyes. "If this is what friendship is like, I can't wait to see what love is like…"

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

Mirajane let out a soft coo at the bundle of clothes she held in her arms. "I know she'll just be so pretty in this! She has the perfect body for it!"

The white-haired girl knocked on the back room's door. "Lucy? Can I come in? I have clothes here for you."

"Ah!" There was a rummaging sound and some banging noises. "You can come in now Mirajane!"

Said girl giggled softly as she opened the newly unlocked door. "Just call me Mira, remember?"

Lucy nodded rapidly as she held a towel up, a blush on her face. "Of course Mira! I don't mean you any disrespect!"

"Now, now." Mirajane placed down the clothes on a bench top inside the room and shut the door so that no peeking males could look through. "No need to be so nervous or formal Lucy." She smiled up at the blonde girl as she drew out a stool. "Come sit down here and I'll brush your hair for you. Does that sound nice?"

"Uh…" Lucy clenched the towel tighter before nodding, the blush intensifying on her face. She shuffled over and sat rigidly on the stool, staring into her face that looked back from a mirror. "Okay Mira."

'So cute…' Mirajane picked up a brush she always kept in the room and began to run the brush through the blonde with red-dyed locks. The girl began to hum as she did so, unknowingly soothing the blonde whose hair she was brushing and causing her to fall into a trance.

A few minutes passed and still Lucy stared absently at her reflection, simply listening to the beautiful tune that Mirajane's voice spun. When a light snapping noise echoed in her ears, Lucy jolted and spun around to see what Mirajane had done.

"Don't worry Lucy." Mirajane smiled at her as she held the brush up. "I just did a braid in your hair. I hope you like it."

The blonde brushed fingers against the braid the held back her fringe and left the rest of her hair out. "I do Mira, thank you very much."

"I'm glad I could help." Mirajane quickly gathered up the bloody clothes that Lucy had shed. "I'll just take these to be washed and you go ahead and get changed." She waved a quick goodbye before opening and shutting the door behind her exit.

"Such a kind person…" Lucy let off another smile before grabbing the clothes at her side on the bench top. "I'll just get changed and…"

She cut off her comment as she stared at the clothes she had been given. "No way…She doesn't really expect me to!..."

* * *

**Ten minutes later**

* * *

"Mira!"

The guild turned to see who had screamed from one of the back rooms near the bar. The girl's voice sounded angry at the bar maid who was laughing quietly to herself as she wiped the bar top down.

"It isn't funny Mira!"

An enraged blonde came out from one of the rooms, fuming and glaring at the older girl as she walked into view. "Don't you have any other clothes?!"

"Not at all." Mirajane let out another giggle. "But I think you look wonderful."

Lucy tossed her head back and folded her arms across her chest. "No I don't! And just telling you now, I'm not happy at all with this outfit!"

The girl was still wearing her usual boots (much to her great happiness), but the rest of the ensemble was clothes that she hoped to never wear; the outfit very alike to what the real Lucy would wear. A forest green miniskirt covered up to the blonde's mid-thighs and the red midriff singlet had a black heart over her left boob. Her belt with her keys and sword on it were slung around her waist in order to keep the skirt up.

A couple of wolf whistles were thrown her way, but were quickly cut down by a blood chilling glare courtesy of the blonde.

"I'm not wearing this and that's final!" Lucy growled as she sat down in her previous stool, struggling to keep her decency intact as the skirt flapped.

"Aw is Lucy pouting." Natsu sidled up to the girl and pulled at her unhappy cheeks. "I thought you told me earlier on that pouting is for girly girls!"

"It is!" Lucy slapped his hands away. "And I'm not pouting!"

"Lucy's lying~" Happy sang from his position on the bar top nearby. "Doesn't she know that you shouldn't lie?"

"You all can go to hell." Lucy hunkered her head down unhappily. "How long will my outfit take to be cleaned?"

Mirajane answered her with a way to happy smile. "About two hours to be washed and another hour to be dried. Blood is rather hard to get off you know?"

Lucy threw her hands up in defeat. "I know! This sucks!" She crossed her arms angrily and began to tap a taboo on the ground with her boots. "I just wish something could save me from this…"

Her answer came in a pair of long, black pants that were flung carelessly over Natsu's face.

"Damn it Ice princess!" Natsu let out a roar at Gray who had just stripped off his outer layer of pants. He shook the offending pair of pants at the Ice mage before tossing it aside. "Stop stripping you creep!"

"You want to go Flame breath?!" Gray slammed his head against Natsu's in a challenge.

"We're already going!"

"You don't even make sense!"

"Shut up!"

Lucy took no heed of the fight erupting on the guild's floor, she was too busy staring at the pair of pants that Natsu had thrown literally into her lap. "Oh man, I swear I'll never berate Gray for his stripping habit ever!"

She quickly slid off her stool and pulled the pants on underneath her skirt, no one paying her any attention as they were too busy watching Natsu and Gray fight. Unlatching the belt around her waist, she let the skirt drop and happily kicked the offending item away before doing up the belt through the pant's belt loops.

"Now what to do about the top…" Lucy looked around for the discarded shirt Gray had surely stripped off long ago but couldn't find it. "Kami damn this!"

A dust cloud caught her eyes as the fight between Natsu and Gray continued literally at her feet. "Perfect…"

The blonde quickly climbed on top of her stool and waited for the right moment, eyes following the fight intently.

'There!'

Lucy dropped with lightning speed and levelled a knee drop right into Natsu's back. The Dragon slayer let out a squeak as his body got slammed to the ground, limbs splayed out in an uncomfortable way.

Before anybody could move or speak, Lucy swiftly tugged on Natsu's vest and managed to get the black with gold trim clothing off him.

"Ha ha ha, yes! Victory!" The blonde easily shed the singlet she wore and pulled the vest over the now red chest bindings she wore. "Freedom is mine!" She continued to laugh as she knelt on a defeated Natsu's back, Gray unsure what to do as his opponent had been defeated by someone else. "Oi, oi…"

Several guild members' attention was brought to the heartbroken sobs coming from their barmaid. "Why'd she have to take them off? She looked so cute! Waaah!"

"Oi, Mirajane…"

"Mira-chan…"

The guild members awkwardly tried to console the girl as she cried, but she took no notice as she continued to wail. Meanwhile, chaos was erupting as Natsu woke up and found a still laughing Lucy on his back.

"Hey you weirdo! Don't knock me out of a battle between men like that!"

"Huh?" Lucy stopped her laughing in order to peer down at Natsu's face who was craning back in order to see her. "You're the least likely person I'd call a man…_boy_…"

Natsu's fist lit up in rage. "What was that?!"

"C'mon little boy and show me what you've got!"

"Shut up you girly girl!"

"AH! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Gray let out a sigh as Natsu and Lucy began duking it out. "Oi, oi…Wasn't Natsu and I fighting?"

"IT ISN'T MANLY TO STEAL OTHER PEOPLE'S BATTLES!" Elfman let out a roar before jumping into the expanding dust cloud of fighting.

"Tch," Gray snorted at the sight of a simply vested Lucy who wore black pants picking a table up and dropping it on Elf man. "What idiots…"

"Shut up Gray!" A tanned hand shot out and grabbed Gray's ankle before swiftly overbalancing him and tipping him onto his ass. "You're coming in to!"

Gray didn't get to say a word in protest before Lucy dragged him into the fight that consisted of most of Fairy Tail's mages.

"Another fight?..." Makarov rubbed his face tiredly. "WHEN WILL YOU BRATS STOP BREAKING MY STUFF?!"

* * *

"Oh Lucy-chan…" Cenas tutted at the blonde as Lyra patched up her scrapes. "This guild can't be good if you're getting injured like that."

"Well…" Lucy let out a nervous laugh. "I kind of started the brawl this time…but it was really fun!" She bounced on her bed in excitement before Lyra slapped her on the head to calm her down.

"Cenas is right Lucy-chan." Lyra tied the last bandage around Lucy's cuts. "If the guild members are hurting you, then maybe they're bad."

Lucy shook her head at her spirit. "No Lyra! Fairy Tail is the best! It's so fun and nice! I love it there! Everybody's so kind and funny…and I've already started making new friends there!"

Cenas and Lyra shared a look between them as Lucy cleaned up the medical supplies she kept in one of her newly bought draws. This was the most happiest they had heard Lucy sound in their time as being one of her spirits. The girl was always acting older than her age and it was refreshing to see her act so youthful and care free, but…_new friends?_"

"But don't worry Lyra, Cenas…" The two spirits looked at their summoner who stood in front of them with a determined expression and her hands on her hips. "I wouldn't _ever _forget you guys and my other beloved spirits! _You guys_ were my Nakama before Fairy Tail, therefore _you guys _are more important to me than any guild could ever be!"

Her two spirits smiled at their summoner, "Lucy-chan…"

The blonde fiddled with her keys, "you guys are my _most precious people _and I won't let anything in this world or the next tell you otherwise! If it makes you feel any better," Lucy gave her spirits a tight hug. "All of you guys can come meet Fairy Tail tomorrow!"

Lyra and Cenas nodded as they clung to Lucy, the keys in her hand glowing in agreement.

* * *

"So you're finally going to show me some of your spirits?" Natsu poked at Lucy's keys in bewilderment. "But how are they going to get through those keys?"

Lucy slapped his hands away from the beloved keys in her hand. "I don't actually need these keys for _all _of my spirits, but with those I do, I simply unlock the gateway to the spirit world with their specific key."

"Sounds lame," Gray yawned from behind her.

"I'll kick your ass again Gray!" Lucy turned on him shaking her fists.

"Whatever blondie, you got lucky."

"I'll fucking show you lucky!"

A flash of gold drew the guilds attention to whatever was happening between Lucy and Gray. The light died down to reveal a beautiful brunette with chains crossing her arms to be standing behind Gray, more of her chains binding him.

"You've gotten better at passing through gates on your own Andromeda." Lucy cocked her hip to the side and flashed a peace sign at Gray. "And for a non-fighting spirit, you've got the stealth and tools necessary for it."

"I try my best Lucy." Andromeda released a flustered Gray from his chains and scrutinised the watching guild members. "So this is that guild you've been talking about so much." She continued to look over them, adding a frosty chill to the air from the coldness of her stare. "Don't look like much do they?"

Lucy scratched her cheek nervously. "Now Andromeda, you've got to be nice remember? These are nice people, so like, don't scare them or anything."

"Of course not Lucy." The guild members visible relaxed when the maiden spirit turned her gaze onto her summoner. "That's Aquarius's job is it not?"

"Oh man Lucy!" Natsu popped up next to Andromeda and began to look her over. "I thought your spirits were cool!"

He began to flail and yell when a long orange tail picked him up into the air. "Awww…Doesn't the little pink boy not think we're cool? Anything of Lu-chan's _has _to be cool." Vulp purred as she leant against Lucy. "She's simply amazing~!"

"Okay Vulp." Lucy shifted slightly away from her worshipping silver key. "I think you can let Natsu down now, he doesn't like transportation much." She let out a laugh as Natsu dry heaved from his position where he was slung over Vulp's tail.

"Whatever you say Lu-chan~!"

Natsu dropped to the ground with a loud thump, groaning from the rocking he had just felt. "G-ah…Rocking…"

"Are you sure these guild members are good enough?" Andromeda looked down at the pink-haired mage with slight disdain. "They sure don't seem too strong."

"Ah ha ha…" Lucy laugh turned into a nervous one as she tried to placate her spirit. "So I'm guessing you're on the disliking side Andromeda?"

"Of course." Andromeda turned her head in a stubborn way. "As one of your guardian's, I have to look over _all _possible candidates of relationships. Boyfriends is already dibs by Aquarius, so I get friendships, spiritships and guildships."

"They aren't even real words…"

"And I say they aren't good!" Andromeda finally looked Lucy over with her blue eyes which softened at her nervous looks. "But if they make you happy Lucy" Andromeda placed a soft hand on her summoners head. "Then I guess I'll have to deal with it." The spirit leant down and placed a motherly kiss on Lucy's forehead. "Now summon someone like Aquarius or Cancer so they can agree with me on this situation!"

And with that, she disappeared in a flash of light.

"Andromeda-chan is _ssooo _strict sometimes," Vulp commented from where she was entertaining several men. "But she _is _like your own mum."

"Mn…" Lucy agreed absently as she fiddled with her keys. "And I've got all my brothers and sisters in you guys."

"Right!" Several men groaned as Vulp flounced away from them in order to give Lucy a hug. "So as your sissy, I say that this guild is awesome and that you should stay here!" The spirit began to disappear in a cloud of sparkles, but before she disappeared completely, she gave Lucy a full on kiss on the mouth. "Bye Lu-chan!"

Majority of the men in the guild passed out due to nosebleeds.

"Damn it!" Lucy wiped her mouth thoroughly with the white-sleeves of her casual outfit. "I hate it when she does that!"

"Well I can't say I didn't like it."

A female voice spoke from Lucy's right and the blonde jumped at the sudden words. "And what do you mean by that?"

Cana grinned at her from her cross-legged position on a table with her ever present keg of beer. "I mean that it's super sexy and that you should summon that spirit more often, it's hard keeping all the boys entertained here by myself." The brunette unclasped one arm from her keg and offered it to Lucy. "Cana Alberona. Card magic and the sexist girl in this guild. You're the new girl Lucy right?"

"Yeah." Lucy shook the offered hand with a smile. "I'll invite Vulp over sometime soon, she would love to meet you." The girl retracted her hand and crossed her arms. "I'm liking meeting you. You seem like a down to Earthland girl with an aptitude to drink, I'm intrigued."

"Heck yeah!" Cana slapped the table next to her. "Damn straight I can drink! You wanna try Lucy-_chan_~?!"

Lucy hopped up easily on the bench next to her. "Don't mind if I do Cana-_chan_."

"Ha!" Cana snorted at the girl before waving towards Mirajane. "C'mere Mira! Get this girl a ked ASAP!"

"Okay Cana!" Mirajane bustled over and easily lifted a huge keg from a stack to the side of the guild. "Will one do?"

"Ah of it's alright Mira!" Lucy called out. "Do you mind grabbing another? I know one of my spirits would love the challenge of a drinking contest!"

"Of course Lucy!" Mirajane hefted the barrel in her arms higher before noting a male sitting nearby idly.

"Loke!"

The sunglass wearing mage started before looking up at Mirajane. "Yes my lovely Mira? What can I do for a beautiful blossom like you?"

"Enough flirting Loke." Mirajane rolled her eyes at the behaviour of her guild mate. "Can you grab one of those barrels and bring it over to the table near Cana. There's going to be a drinking contest again."

"A contest between two beautiful ladies I hope." Loke adjusted his glasses before getting up and picking up a barrel.

"Well two beautiful ladies and one spirit that Lucy is summoning."

Loke froze at this and began to sweat. "I…just realised Mira…I-I have some…stuff to do…Ah! Yeah! Stuff to do right now…so I can't help yo-"

"Loke…"

The mage froze at the dark presence that began to surround Mirajane, even as she smiled sweetly at him.

"You'll help me, won't you?"

"A-aye!"

The two brought the barrels through the guild and over to the tables where Lucy and Cana were waiting, Loke hiding his face behind his barrel.

"Here you are Lucy~!" Mirajane dropped the barrel in front of her. "Loke here has _kindly _brought the other barrel for your spirit over, do you want him to put it on the table next to you?"

Lucy smiled up at Mirajane and nodded. "If it's okay with Loke-san that is."

"J-just Loke…" The secret spirit quickly put the barrel down and tried his best not to let Lucy see his face, but just for a moment, the two made eye contact and Loke watched with wide eyes as Lucy sent him a knowing smile.

"Of course! Thank you very much Loke!" The blonde gave the hastily retreating male a cheery wave before rummaging around with her keys. "Where is he…"

Another golden flash drew the guilds attention to whatever spirit was going to appear next.

"Maybe an even more beautiful babe than that last one! Man was she cold!"

"Or an animal hybrid like the last one that appeared. I liked that little foxy thing she had going on."

"I hope it's a really hot dude."

Many were disappointed when, what seemed like, a large cow wearing black underwear with an axe strapped to its back appeared.

"Luuuucy-sama has such a nice body!"

"Yes." Lucy patted the cow on his arm as he gaped at her with – not again! – hearts in his eyes. "Hello Taurus. How are you?"

Taurus's tail waved happily behind him. "I'm feeling gooood Luuuuucy-sama! Are these the guild members yoooou were talking about? Andromeda-san didn't seem toooo like them much."

"That's good. Yes. And no." Lucy listed off her answers. "What I summoned you here for Taurus though, was to check out the guild and…" She picked up her own barrel of beer and grinned at him. "To have a drinking contest again! This time though, we've got the sexy Cana here trying to beat you!"

Cana waved cheerfully at the spirit from Lucy's right. "Hey there smoking beef. You ready to get started?"

Steam came out of Taurus's nose and ears "Oh boy yes!"

Makarov slid in on the scene and raised his hand up. "Contestants begin on three! One! Two! Three!"

"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" The crowd cheered on the three contestants as they tried to scull the barrels as quickly as they could. Taurus was lifting the barrel with one hand and drinking it almost like a normal cup. Cana was sculling it with practised ease. And Lucy was lifting it high above her head and tilting her head back in a ninety degree angle in order to drink it.

"I call one hundred on Cana!"

"Two hundred on the cow!"

"What about Lucy?"

"She won't do it."

Cana slammed the barrel down, Taurus following shortly after. "Ha ha! I win suckers!"

"I have disappointed Luuucy-sama!" Taurus hung his head shamefully. "Oh noooo."

"Oh man." Lucy lifted the barrel down from her head and wiped her mouth. "I was sure I had gotten better! What was my time Taurus?"

"You're three seconds faster than last time Luuucy-sama."

"Oh yeah!" Lucy stood up on the table and threw the barrel down, cracking it on the floor. "Suck on that you Yakuza bastards! I told you I could do it!"

"Yakuza?" Master peered at a table dancing Lucy who stopped her moves in order to look down at him. "Yeah Master, what's up?"

"Were you in the Yakuza?"

Lucy looked across at a petite blue-haired girl who wrung her hands nervously nearby. "No I was not…?"

"Levy." The girl stuck her hand out in greeting. "Levy McGarden."

Lucy jumped off the table and shook Levy's hand. "Lucy. And no Levy-san, I wasn't in the Yakuza. I just played some games with them when I went through their districts in order to get information. And sometimes," she shrugged disarmingly as she dropped Levy's hand, "just for fun."

"What matter of business were you attending to in the Red Light district my child?" Makarov looked upon the blonde with a concerned look. 'No child her age should be wandering around such places alone, even if she _did _have her spirits with her.'

"Luuucy-sama was looooking for infooormatioooon." Taurus stacked the empty barrels on the table before waving at Lucy. "I'll see yooou soooon Luuuucy-sama. I quuuite like this guild!" And with that, the spirit disappeared.

"Information?" Levy furrowed her eyebrows at Lucy. "Why didn't you just read some books instead of going to such horrible places?"

"It's not that bad around there!" Defended Lucy. "I met some really cool people! Besides," she shrugged her shoulders, "I may love books, but books don't have _all _of the information I wanted. I highly doubted many could tell me where I could find gate keys right now or where dragons could be found. Those facts had to be found by going deep into the dirty parts of Fiore!"

"You said you were looking for dragons before," said a now recovered Natsu as he gripped Lucy's shoulders and looked her directly in the eyes. "What information did you find? You said that you knew of four other people and their dragons. Who are they?!"

'Damn you past Tia!' Lucy cursed the Lucy who foolishly bragged her information to Natsu when she first met him.

"I am…unable to tell you." Lucy fiddled with the hem of the black hoodie she was wearing, trying her hardest not to look into Natsu's desperate eyes.

"What do you mean you can't tell me?!" Natsu shook the girl harder, crushing her shoulders with his increasing grip.

"Natsu…" Levy went to intervene, but Makarov put his hand up to stop her. "Wait."

'Think Tia! Use that brain of yours! You've bluffed your way out of hopeless hostage situations before, you can disarm one stupid slayer!'

"It isn't my information to give." Lucy glanced at Natsu's onyx eyes. "You see…A seer told me. One of those who are connected to the heavens told me of information I have now, but…she made me swear on my Celestial magic that I couldn't tell anyone. And you should know now," Lucy shrugged Natsu's hands off her shoulders and stared determinedly into his eyes. "Celestial mages **never **go back on their promises!"

Natsu stared back at her and the two seemed to be in stalemate. The entire guild held their breaths, was Natsu going to flip a shit and hit her?

"Okay." Natsu grinned and slung a friendly arm around Lucy's shoulders. "I can respect a promise and fighting spirit! Let's go on a job Lucy!"

"Aye!" Happy floated in from the bar he had been napping at and settled on Lucy's head. "Let's go on a mission!"

Lucy tried to escape the Dragon Slayer's iron grip. "Who the hell are you guys to say when I go on a mission?! Hey! Quit dragging me Natsu! I'll kick your ass you bastard!"

"Don't worry Luce, we've already picked out a job for us to do and Mira already wrote it down in the logbook, we can go straight away!"

"What the hell is up with Luce?! You can't just give me nicknames so suddenly!"

"Don't you like it? Luce~! Luce~!"

"Shut up!"

Makarov sighed and kneaded his brow. "I'm too old for this crap. They're going to destroy something big sooner or later, I just _know _it."

* * *

**FILLER EPISODE! MASSIVE FILLER EPISODE!**

**Wow I am really sorry for that, it was such a filler, but it had to get some crap out of the way and I just wanted to show how Tia is **_**way **_**more tomboyish than Lucy.**

**Do you know how weird it is to write Taurus or to make your own spirit personalities? I swear, if Lucy gets these spirits (which isn't likely as they seem to forget about the silver keys. How mean!) and they're nothing like how I've wrote them, I swear to Kami-!**

**I'm just getting worked up about this. So~**

**Mirajane is a sort of sisterly/motherly type.**

**Natsu is being a dense idiot who annoys Tia.**

**Levy was finally introduced and seems a bit intimidated by Tia.**

**Cana will be her sexy partner in crime.**

**Loke is terrified. 'Does she know?...'**

**Vulp mouth rapes her on a regular basis.**

**Andromeda is her mother basically.**

**And her spirits are her loving (actually, maybe not in Aquarius's case) siblings.**

**If you have any questions about this story, than don't be afraid to ask! See ya!**


	8. Down the rabbit hole went Alice

**You know what's devastating? Either than finding out I had to accept moderate reviews in order to actually get them, I have stopped my awesome streak of updating every day as I have changed home base.**

**So sad…**

**Anyways, nice to see y'all reviews and now we're back on to canon!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_Stay with me~ 'Cause you're all I want to own_

**Warning: **_Darling language with me_

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

My head made a hollow thunking noise as it made contact with the bar top. I had a massive headache as of three hours ago and it still hadn't disappeared. Even placing my hot face against the cool wood did nothing to sooth it.

Why did I have a headache you may ask? Well the answer is simple (minded), sweet (when he wants things) and straight to the point (when he is ever not?).

Natsu that bastardly son of an awesome magical creature that I wish I could be.

He had dragged me off on a mission that was so familiar, it hurt even more to think about how much I had changed it.

After he and Happy had dragged me to some posh person's house and knocked excitedly on the door, I had remembered what had come next in the series.

Kaby had answered the door, looking every bit like a real-life Hitler like he had in the series. He had asked us in, sweeping a tuxedoed arm in order to gesture us through.

After explaining the whole thing about finding a book called Daybreak from this son of a bitch called Duke Everlue,Natsu had instantly dragged me back out of the house, excited to burn something and not get reprimanded.

So what happened to change the mission? Well it went something like this…

* * *

**Flashback biatches!**

* * *

I tapped the table irritably as I waited for Natsu and Happy to come back from whatever they had to do. They had tugged me into some restaurant they knew, ordered a bunch of food and then deserted me.

Looking at the spread of food in front of me, my finger tapped faster as my anger spiked. 'They better not leave me with the bill…I lost enough money when I bought us all that food in Hargeon, I think my bit is covered.'

"Luce!"

Turning my eyes to super-glare, I shot it up at Natsu, prepared to burn him to crisp with my gaze. However, that did not happen as my super-glare quickly died to one of surprise. "No way…You don't expect me to…"

Natsu waved around the skimpy maid outfit he had found or bought, incredibly reminiscent to the fact that Lucy had bought this thing for herself in the real series. "Yep! Happy said that the maid job required a maid's outfit! He also said to choose this one as well!" The pink-haired boy continued to grin happily, completely oblivious to the rage that was building up inside of me.

"Oh really?" My neck cracked oddly as I turned it to look at a floating Happy. "And is Happy one of my parents? Is he the one who orders me around into doing stupid things like wearing skimpy maid outfits that _I wouldn't wear in a thousand years!_"

The flying cat had the decency to grin sheepishly at me. "It asked for a _maid _Lucy, and _everyone _knows that maids wear maid outfits. Duh!"

My right eye began to twitch uncontrollably. "I'll kill you in your sleep."

"Wah!" Happy began to turn on the waterworks full force, flapping quickly over to Natsu to cry to him. "Lucy's being mean again!" The tears continued to flow as Happy buried his face into Natsu's chest and clung to him as tightly as he could. "Why is she so mean?!"

"I know you're really like, five, Happy." I raised an eyebrow at the cat's continued performance. "But there is no real need to act like it."

"Says you." Natsu stuck his tongue out at me, still holding the maid outfit in one hand.

"Says me why?" I asked.

"Well," Natsu scratched his chin thoughtfully. "You always act like you're older than us. You seem as old as gramps when you talk, all wise 'n' stuff."

My eye began to twitch again. "You are _so _kind Natsu. I bet girls fall at your feet when you compliment them so on their age."

"See!" He pointed his finger accusingly at me. "You're doing it again!"

As I went to answer him, Happy jumped back into the conversation. "Guys! I thought we were making Lucy wear the maids outfit!"

I internally cursed. 'I thought they had forgotten about that.'

"Oh yeah!" Natsu thrust the outfit at me again. "C'mon Luce, just put on the outfit. Please?" His onyx eyes shone slightly as he pouted at me, my stubbornness beginning to thin at his expression. 'Damn it! I was a sucker for the puppy eyes in my old life, why do I still have to have a weakness for it in this one?'

I wilted slightly and let out a sigh of defeat. "Fine. But I'm wearing my pants underneath it, they can pass for leggings or tights, whatever you want to call them."

"Yes!" Natsu pumped the air and shoved the outfit into my chest. "You go get changed in this and we'll get started on the food!" He and Happy turned to the spread of food on the table, drool coming out of their mouth as they stared at it.

"Whatever." I stood up and went to go find a nearby bathroom to change, but not before calling out to the two males behind me. "You guys are paying for that you know?! Tough luck if you don't want to. Oh, and leave the apple pie, that's mine! Yes, I'm talking to you Natsu."

"OH MAN!" The duel cry rose from behind me, earning myself an amused laugh.

* * *

My booted feet shifted nervously as we stood in front of massive gold-gilded gates. "Are you sure we should do this? I, uh, I d-don't feel comfortable like this."

And it was true, I didn't at all.

Although I can easily wear just chest bindings, Natsu's vest and Gray's pants at the guild, this maid outfit…rubbed me the wrong way. I was used to having my chest bound, but Natsu had forced me to go and remove them after I came out with them bound tightly, the bandage showing and the whole top of the outfit falling off because there was nothing to fill it. The whole outfit barely covered my chest and barely made it pass my ass, adding a sense of awkwardness even though I had a pair of pants on.

One of the worst parts though was, the fact that Happy knew how to do hair; and had demonstrated by taking my usual ponytail out while Natsu distracted me, and tying it swiftly back a fraction pull back that took my fringe from my face and left the rest out. I had swiftly combed my hair over my shoulder to cover the Fairy Tail mark that stood out so much, even against my bronzed skin. We didn't need Duke Everlue to suspect me or anything.

So here we were, standing in front of Duke Everlue's giant-ass mansion with its' golden gates gleaming in the sunlight. Ugh, I sound so poetic.

"Aw I think you look fine Luce." Natsu gave me a one-armed hug from behind and then abruptly shoved me towards the gates. "Now go get that job! Happy and I will be hiding behind this tree over there, okay?" The pink-haired boy didn't wait for my answer, quickly scurrying to stand behind a tree with his furred partner in tow.

I looked anxiously back at them before tugging on my outfit once more, trying to work up the courage to ring or knock on the gate.

The doorbell chimed cheerily as I rung it, way too happily for my liking. "Hello?" I peered up at the mansion between the bars. "Is anyone there? I'm here to apply for the maid job, but I'm probably wasting my time since you're not coming…"

A sudden rumbling of the ground made me leap back, ready to run in case Virgo goes on the attack. You never know, this situation may go horrifically different to that of the series.

The terrifying image of a grotesquely shaped Virgo leaping from the ground, her large body jiggling in ways the human body should never move, shall always be etched into my mind. Just thinking about it makes me want to retch.

The bubble gum-haired maid glared down at me with closed eyes, her arms crossed in an imposing way. "My master will make the time to see you small blonde girl. Don't try his patience."

All I could manage was a small squeak in answer. Where was the brave and fearless Tia? Obviously she wasn't in for the entire day.

"Boyoyo~!" A tuxedoed man spun up from the large hole Virgo had made, twirling his whiskery moustache in a way that reminded me of villains from cheap movies. "Who do we have here Virgo?"

"A maid applicate master," Virgo grunted.

"Oh?" Duke Everlue looked me up and down in a way that made me long for my sword and keys that Natsu had taken off me. "No. She's too ugly."

Instead of being disappointed like Lucy had, I merely blinked in answer. "Okay. May I ask, do you wish for beauty, or good service? I am quite adapt in all areas of cleaning, cooking and general keeping. If it is a different kind of beauty you wish for, I'm afraid that I'm unable to serve you there, I am just offering you skills that your maids may not have." My gaze didn't waver from the small male in front of me, my posture rigid as a pole. "If I am unable to help you sir, I will take my leave now. I beg your pardon for interrupting your day good sir." I bowed deeply to him before turning away, intent on getting away from his creepy stare.

"Wait, master." Virgo's deep voice spoke up from behind me, resulting in my body freezing involuntarily.

"What is it Virgo?" Duke Everlue's voice sounded mildly irritated at her intervention. "That girl is ugly, for all the talents she claims to have, I will _not _have her serving me. Do you understand?"

"I understand master, but…"

I shifted around to look at the secret spirit from the corner of my eye. She looked thoughtful as she stared at me.

"You could use her talents and by keeping her from your view, she will provide to be a valuable asset that you would never have to think about. She would never come into contact with you or the other maids, I'm willing to take full responsibility of her master."

It took a Herculean effort to keep my mouth from dropping open in god-honest surprise. 'Oh sweet Kami, what have I done?'

"As long as you keep her out of my sight…"

My mouth actually dropped open a bit as the man of the mansion _actually _considered taking me on as a member of staff. 'Oh Kami no!'

"Okay. Girl," he was now talking to me and I stood at attention as to not be rude. "You shall now be Virgo's underling, I want you listen to everything she says and _do it_. I especially don't want to see you ever, okay?"

"Yes sir." I bowed deeply to him, mindful of keeping the Fairy Tail mark covered by my hair. "Whatever you wish of me, I am here to serve you." Internally I was screaming in surprise and panic, but outside I kept my calm and collected look.

"At least she's polite and loyal," muttered Duke Everlue. "Lead her to one of the rooms downstairs Virgo, _far _downstairs."

"Whatever you ask master." Virgo's gorilla-like hand picked me up and slung me over her shoulder, "we shall take our leave now."

Not a single sound came from my mouth before I was suddenly six-feet under and holding my breath. 'I'm underground right now. Try not to scream Tia, I know you don't like being underground, but just stay calm, Virgo will surface soon.'

I could've kissed the accursed ground when Virgo surfaced, but unfortunately, I was currently slung over the massive maid's shoulder.

"You shall stay here new maid." Virgo placed me down surprisingly carefully onto stone ground. "I will be the one to fetch you to do your duties."

"Of course Virgo-sama." I bowed to the maid carefully. "I am Lucy if you are needing my name, but I expect it doesn't really matter, does it?"

Virgo stared at me carefully, but didn't reply, simply tunnelling away in a flurry of dirt and stone that left another hole in 'my' room.

"Oh sweet Kami." I gazed around the dull and extremely bare room that was now mine. "Natsu, you better come and fetch me soon, I really don't want to stay here too long." I paused as I considered what I had just said. "The way I've been acting today…it's nothing like what I would've acted like back in my old life. Tia, she was a badass who was polite, but still cold and calculating. She would never wait for anyone to save her. I'm not Lucy either, my views still reflect Tia's, but…"

I sunk slowly into a bed that was covered by a thin blanket. "Who the hell am I, if I'm not Tia or Lucy?..."

* * *

After my little reflection on life, I prepared myself for the work I was bound to do for a while, at least, until I could get my hands on Daybreak. And more importantly, Virgo's key.

Talking about the maiden spirit, she had appeared around an hour later, transporting me into a spacious kitchen in order to help out with the food preparation there before leaving again. I was happy though, I was in charge of using knives to chop up a selection of vegetables that seriously strange looking kitchen hands passed to me. Travelling with my spirits had given me an appreciation to the art of cooking, many of them showing me their way of preparing food. Personally, I enjoyed Cancer's version of quick and clean slices in order to dice the vegetables.

But please don't tell my spirits, they may get offended.

As I helped the kitchen hands to prepare the food, I relaxed rather quickly. The small talk they were generating added an almost lullaby quality to the atmosphere, the soft chattering dulling my vicious thoughts as I diced carrots to perfection.

"Did you hear? Duke Everlue is going to move some of his library tomorrow to one of the rooms downstairs. He's been planning it for a while, but I wonder why he would suddenly do it now?"

My body nearly stiffened at the casual comment one of the kitchen hands had thrown into the conversation, but I forced it to continue to stack diced vegetables into a dish to be stewed. 'He's going to move the library? That wasn't stated in the series. Is he suspicious of me? Should I do a smash 'n' grab in order to obtain the book? What about Virgo's key? Should I-'

I took a deep breath and relaxed my body, wary that people may be watching my movements. 'Relax Tia. You've been in situations like this before, what have you always done?'

Thinking back to a situation I had been through in my previous life, I had ended up being thought to be one of the…bitches a pimp owned. A pimp whose business I had to ruin in order for the gang I was currently with to completely run that section of the district. I had gone along with the act, incredibly cautious and wanting to just punch some jaws and bust out, but I had stayed calm and in my character .The whole operation had worked out when I was summoned to the boss's room, taking the documents necessary to pin evidence against him so that my current gang leader could take over the establishment while I was there.

If I stayed calm and just waited for the right moment, my chance would come, I was lucky like that.

And my luck came to fruition when Virgo made me clean the library in order for it to be spotless for the other maids to move the numerous books from the room.

* * *

I had quietly and efficiently dusted the room, all the while keeping my eye out for the golden book that was one of the objections of this operation. After spotting the book, I had swiftly and easily slipped the book down my maid outfit as I had turned, wary of any cameras around the room.

'Like a ninja…' My mouth twitched up in a small smile as I continued to clean the spacious room. 'Now just to get out quickly and quietly after I steal Virgo's key. Oh damn, Duke Everlue probably has the blasted thing on him. Pickpocketing it is.'

As I resolved to steal the key from Duke Everlue whenever the situation arose, a sudden explosion shook the house and I could smell a familiar scent of fire.

"Nin-nin!"

"Oh for fuck's sake." I hit my head against a wooden bookcase, "this is why I prefer to work alone in operations like this."

Making sure Daybreak was secure in my outfit, I went to go find the two idiots who had just broken into the mansion, intent on getting my beloved sword and keys from them before they could do something stupid. Like say, break them.

* * *

"Oi Natsu!"

The Dragon Slayer's face was a complete classic when he turned, only to find one of my boots centimetres from his face. "Wha-!"

The boot made contact and launched his head back at a nearly impossible angle, falling off to reveal a red boot print in the boy's face.

"Ten points goes to Lucy for such a beautiful goal!" I cheered in a commentator's voice before raising my hands together and shaking them at an imaginary crowd. "And the crowd goes wild! Ahhhh!" I did a poor imitation of a cheering crowd before reaching a felled Natsu. "Hey there ninja failure."

Natsu instantly leapt to his feet and glared at me, leaning _way _too far into my personal space for my liking. "What the hell Lucy?! It's been like three hours, why haven't you come back out?!"

"Well," I began as I pushed his face away from mine. "I went undercover as a maid – like we discussed may I add – and I have obtained Daybreak. I _was _going to steal something from the Duke before sneaking back outside, but you have seemed to have fucked that up royally. May I ask, what the _fuck_ were you doing?!"

Happy decided to chime in here, still wearing some skull on his head he must've gotten from the attic upstairs where I'm certain Natsu and he had entered from, just like in the series. "We were being ninjas Lucy! We've snuck in to save you like the awesome ninjas we are, nin-nin!"

"Nin-nin!" Natsu echoed, raising his hands up into a tiger seal from Naruto.

"Oh for fuck's sake," I moaned again. "Whatever, I don't even care anymore. Just who the hell did you attack?"

"Her." Natsu pointed over the destroyed balcony railing to where Virgo and a bunch of other maids lay. "And the other ugly chicks she had with her."

"Aye sir!"

I refrained from face-palming. "Okay Natsu, here's the situation. The pink-haired chick is actually a Celestial spirit, one I'm quite happy to obtain the key to. I _was _going to pickpocket the key to her gate from the Duke, but now that you've come in here with your sucky ninja skills, I guess we'll just have to beat the crap out of him so I can take the key from him. He doesn't deserve Virgo, she's supposed to be an amazing spirit who deserves a master that will let her do whatever she pleases, not keep her chained up like the Duke!"

Natsu took no heed of my passionate declaration at the end of my explanation, he was too busy shouting about how he got to beat up the 'bad guy.'

"Duke Everlue isn't that bad Natsu," I tried to calm the boy. "He just used his wealth and power in order to keep Kaby and his family from moving like country or town or something." I shrugged disarmingly as I saw Natsu begin to fire up, "you know, he might be a little bit bad."

"Grah!" Natsu's fists caught fire in his rage. "I'm going to kick that guy's ass!"

"You won't unless you beat us." A male voice spoke from behind us, Natsu, Happy and I whirling around to face two males standing there calmly. "And I highly doubt you will be able to defeat us."

I heard a rumbling noise and quickly looked over the balcony to see Virgo waking up and moving around sluggishly, the other maids moving around as well.

"She was unconscious," I muttered as I watched Virgo beginning to stand up. "My operation isn't compromised."

"Luce?" I could see Natsu glance at me curiously from where he was glaring at the two brothers. "What the hell are you muttering about?"

I patted him reassuringly on his arm before standing up on a portion of balcony railing that wasn't destroyed. "I trust that you can defeat these guys Natsu."

"Of course!" He cried, "what the hell do you think I am? Gray?"

I chuckled and crouched down, "of course not Natsu. I'll leave the situation to you here and finish off my objective, I'll meet you as soon as I can."

"Luce, wait!"

I could feel Natsu's hand brush my back as I leapt off the balcony twisting slightly to grin up at his shocked face before facing back down to the quickly approaching ground. "Now to land this."

Flipping myself around to a standing position, I forced an abundance of my magical energy to my legs before I landed. Tremors ran up my legs as the ground cracked and broke under the force of my landing. "That hurt a bit…Fuck, where's my boot?! Oh wait..."

Virgo looked up from where she was picking up the other maids. "Lucy-san…"

Pulling my feet from the cracked marble, mindful of not cutting my bare right foot too badly on the rugged rubble. "Not now Virgo-sama! We have an intruder! Two of Everlue-sama's guards have begun to apprehend him, but I fear that they shall not be enough. The pink hair and Fairy Tail mark make me certain that he is Salamander of Fairy Tail, feared Fire mage and all-round powerhouse. We must get to Everlue-sama as quickly as possible, I fear that Salamander will go for him next." Finally getting my legs from the two giant holes in the ground, I began to hurry towards the expressionless maid. "We should go now Virgo-sama!"

The large maid looked at me carefully before nodding, lowering herself slightly so as I may climb on her back.

"If it's quite alright with you Virgo-sama, I shall follow after you." I gestured for her to go ahead and the maid nodded before drilling down into the ground, the still unconscious maids flopping pathetically on her back.

"I can't believe that worked." I breathed before running after the maid. "Oh no, more underground adventures…" I hesitated as I looked down the pitch black hole. "Oh Kami, I can't believe I'm doing this!" I took a couple of steps back before running and flinging myself into the hole feet first. "Down the rabbit hole went Alice."

I fell for a short while before thumping down solidly on the floor of the tunnel. I recovered quickly and began to scurry along, following the maiden's trail before steadily climbing up more into a steep incline. A gloomy light shone from above me and I quickly pulled myself up the last few metres before vaulting out into a dark room full of odd ends. "Virgo-sama?"

"What is she doing here?!"

Flinching at the sudden loud exclamation, I turned to face an angry Duke Everlue who glared at me through the gloom.

"I'm very sorry Everlue-sama." I bowed to him, not daring to stand upright. "But I am here to inform you that there is an intruder from the guild Fairy Tail. He is currently battling the two mage guards you hired, but I fear that he may be too strong for them – he is the famous Salamander after all. I was worried for your wellbeing, so I followed Virgo-sama here in order to protect you. I have been trained in combat and have proven to be efficient in body guarding. I am offering my services to you, but if you don't require or want it, I can take my leave sir."

There was a tense silence as I stared at the dark ground, waiting for the Duke's answer.

"Very well. If you stay behind me so I am unable to see you, you may offer me your services." Duke Everlue's reply came in a suffering tone, as if my mere presence annoyed him.

"Of course Everlue-sama." I kept my head bowed as I straightened up and ghosted to stand behind him. "Whatever you ask from me I will do willingly."

I got a grunt in reply before the Duke turned to Virgo who had stood quietly in the corner, waiting to be addressed. "Virgo, lead the way to our…_guest_. We shall deal with him personally. _Girl_," I bobbed my head in acknowledgement," you shall stay behind me at all times and keep my back protected. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir."

With that, I followed Duke Everlue – quite unwillingly might I add – as Virgo leapt down the hole she had already made, drilling a new path once she got down there.

Following directly behind Virgo was different from being far behind her or with her, her magic seemed to grab me and drag me along with her and the Duke, buffering away the rocks that threatened to crush me. I had to rein in my magic from attacking and dispelling the foreign magic that was currently grabbing me, the effort making me shake slightly as we continued through the earth.

Thankfully, we suddenly emerged into open light, the fake light of the chandelier blinding me momentarily.

I peeked around Duke Everlue and Virgo's massive girth, only to see Natsu finishing off the two mage brothers who were one of his very first main opponents in the series. It seemed sad how weak they were compared to the opponents Natsu faced later on, but it was also a reality check to how much Natsu grows in strength throughout the series. It amazes me every time.

"Boyoyo~" I could see Duke Everlue curl his annoying moustache around his fingers at a panting and clearly tired Natsu who turned to face the new voice. I saw his eyes widen at seeing me and his mouth opening to shout, but I quickly put a finger to my lips in a shushing movement. Mindful that the Duke would be suspicious of my movements. I quickly turned the shush into a finger that pointed above us to a floating Happy.

"Sir, target right above us, shall I engage or keep an eye on him?"

Natsu's and Happy's eyes widened at my dead voice, but I quickly gave them a wink before Duke Everlue looked up at the blue cat above him. "No girl, there's no need to think that such a little kitty would pose a threat."

Ignoring Happy's angry shout and the smile that wanted to come over my lips, I nodded in answer before relaxing into a military pose of attention, my clenched right hand's wrist grasped by my left behind my back.

"Virgo," Duke Everlue's voice turned into an oily one that made me want to throw up," finish this pest so that we may be freed of his commoner presence."

Natsu screamed angrily at him and the two males quickly ended up shouting insults across the room to each other.

Taking advantage of such a development, I scanned Duke Everlue's person for the glint of Virgo's golden key. The search seemed fruitless until the Duke lifted one of his arms up to point angrily at a still arguing Natsu. His already stretched waistcoat slipped out of its tucked position in his crisp pants, creeping up to show a white undershirt and a golden key tucked into his waistband.

'I thought he put it into a front pocket in the series, but that could just be a showy thing he did when he battled Lucy.' I mused absently to myself as my fingers crept closer to the key. 'Kitty paws Tia, kitty paws. Just lift it carefully, there you go. Easy, easy…Fuck yeah!'

The key dangled from my right hand and I quickly curled my hands securely around it, holding it close to my chest. Looking up to see the situation hadn't changed much, I saw Virgo look back at me, her face in a knowing expression.

I bowed my head to her before showing her the key in my hand and mouthing that I hoped that she would be my spirit after this battle. She nodded back to me and turned back to face a now fired up Natsu.

"I'll show you a newt you slimy bastard!" Natsu let out a roar before sprinting towards Virgo with flaming fists. He leapt up to punch Virgo in the face, but I quickly shot past Duke Everlue and Virgo to grab his flaming fist, redirecting it into a lock that left his both of his hands useless.

"What?" He looked at me with betrayed and angry eyes as we fell back down, with me bearing my entire weight into him.

"Just go with it Natsu, but don't hit the maid, she's on our side." I managed to whisper the sentence to the boy before driving him forcefully into the ground, leaping back and twisting into a round-off at the last second so as to not get injured.

"I'm sorry Virgo-sama," I spared a glance back at the massive maid. "But have seemed to have taken the hit from you, I mean no offence."

"There is no offence here," the maid replied before glowing a golden colour, "mistress."

"What?!" Duke Everlue's enraged voice came from behind the rapidly diminishing mage. "Virgo! What the hell are you talking about?! What are you doing?!"

The glow died from around Virgo to reveal the maiden spirit that I knew and loved. "You have lost possession of me Everlue-san. Mistress Lucy here now has my key, I no longer serve you." The girl delivered the information in a deadpan voice, her emotions never showing on her pretty face. "Now if you will excuse me, I have my summoners business to take care of." The girls chained arms moved in a rhythmic fashion as she spun towards him, lashing out in a kick that bulldozed the male right into the chest.

"Oh yeah! Way to go Virgo!" I cheered the girl on happily as she caused a pitfall to form around the male, quickly filling up to trap him. "You're the greatest!"

"Thank you mistress." Virgo bowed to me before standing to attention. "Do you wish to punish me?"

At that, I began to laugh. Long, hard and loud. I didn't think I felt as relieved as I did then. "No thanks Virgo. I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I'm fine with not punishing my spirits, they will never deserve it."

The maid merely nodded at this before speaking again. "If you don't mind mistress, but I'll be taking my leave now."

"Of course Virgo." I waved the hand with her key in it. "You deserve it after today."

The maiden bowed to me once more before disappearing in a golden flash, her key glowing as she did so.

I gazed fondly at the key in my hand. "Another spirit and another step closer to having all of you guys together again…I can't wait for that day…"

My fond afterglow of winning against the Duke was interrupted by a hand snaking around me, crushing me to a hard chest.

"Damn you Lucy!" Natsu's closed fist began to grind against my head. "You had me and Happy worried there! First you jump off a balcony like a crazy person, then I think you've turned to that creeps side! Don't scare me like that!"

"Aye!" Happy chimed in, agreeing.

"Gah!" I squirmed in Natsu's strong grip. "Stop it Natsu! Not the noogie! Oh Kami it's painful!"

The fist continued to grind against my head, only getting faster after my plea to stop. "Never!" Cried Natsu. "It's punishment for scaring us like that!"

"Aye sir!" Another fist joined Natsu's, tiny in its' size and only ruffling my hair slightly. "This is punishment Lucy!"

I cried out and tried to get out of Natsu's grip, but although I was marginally faster than the mage, he was easily stronger than I was, and it showed as he crushed me against his chest.

Suddenly I stopped moving and Natsu and Happy stopped their grinding of my skull in surprise. "Luce?"

My eyes narrowed as I turned to look up at the slightly taller mage. "Natsu…Where's my belt with my keys and sword on it?"

There was a pause as both Natsu and Happy mulled over my question. Soon after, sweat began to build up on their foreheads and the two of them began to chuckle nervously.

"YOU ASSHOLES! THEY BETTER BE SAFE!"

"NO LUCY! NOT THE FACE!"

"AYE!"

* * *

**End the Flashback~**

* * *

I fiddled absently with the bunch of keys that poked out of their compartment on my belt as I sat upright. My back cracked pleasantly as I stretched it, mindful of the fact that I hadn't changed out of the maid outfit yet and that several males eyes were glued to my chest.

"Thanks for the milkshake before Mira." I smiled at the barmaid who smiled back in answer. "Not at all Lucy, it seemed like you needed it. And just remember, tomorrow you're telling me why you're in such a cute outfit!" The barmaid let out a little squeal and hugged her ever-present rag to her chest in her excitement.

"Okay Mira." I waved to the white-haired girl as I slid off my stool. "I'll see you tomorrow Mira, my bed's calling."

"Bye Lucy!"

I continued to wave at her as I walked through the guild, only pausing in order to dodge some flying mugs and males who wanted to have a peek into my outfits' top.

Sighing softly, I stood outside the guild doors and stretched again. "Man, I'm looking forward to that bath and bed that's waiting at me at home."

Whistling jovially, I set off to my apartment.

* * *

"Done, done, done, done, done, done, we are done~" I sung an absent song as I locked my door and pulled off my usual belt that hung from my shoulder to my hip. I lifted the keys to my eyes and smiled at them, "take care of Virgo okay guys? She's a nice spirit and deserves some good friends since that meanie Everlue left her alone."

My keys glowed in answer as I placed them carefully on my bedside table along with my sword. "You never know guys…maybe you'll get another friend soon?" I laughed to myself as I rummaged around in my chest of draws for a change of clothes. Finding a pair of black pants with owls on it and an old, worn t-shirt, I skipped off to my bathroom in order to have another bathe in my amazingly massive bath!

Upon reaching the bathroom and beginning to _finally _pull off the embarrassing outfit, I let out a small wail of despair.

"Where's my boot?!"

* * *

Rubbing my hair with a towel, I fingered the long locks as I did so. "Maybe I should get my hair cut…It's already past my shoulders, which is longer than my previous life, and it may be hazardous while I'm in battle…Ah well, if it gets yanked at, I'll cut it off."

With that problem solved, I brushed my hair out and cleaned up the bathroom, intent on getting into my lovely bed with its' fur blanket…So soft…

Opening the bathroom door, I entered my bedroom, shutting the door softly behind me. "Now to get into bed!"

I jumped up and down before sprinting and doing a flying leap onto my bed. "Touchdown!"

"Ack!"

I paused as I found my bed suspiciously lumpy. "Don't tell me…"

Pulling the blanket down, I stared into sleepy onyx eyes. "Natsu? What are you doing in my bed? Actually, what are you doing in my house? Or how did you get in here?" I let out a soft squeak as the pink-haired mage rolled over in my bed, dragging me with him.

"I was sleepy, and I wanted to see what your house was like. The window was unlocked, so I just jumped up and climbed through. Are you satisfied? 'Cause I'm really tired and I want to go back to bed."

Normally I'd kind of be freaking out because there was a _guy _in my bed, but it was Natsu. The simplest kid I have ever known. I highly doubt he knows what kissing is, or to take advantage of someone is if he doesn't know what virgin is.

"Where's Happy though?" I asked with genuine curiosity.

Natsu shifted around again, probably trying to get comfortable since I was sitting on him. "He said something about not getting your wrath placed upon him again like earlier today, so he stayed home. He's just a scaredy cat though..."

I nodded at this answer, "makes sense. Now move over, I want to be able to sleep under the blanket as well."

Natsu turned to me, his sleepiness all gone. "So…you're not going to kick me out?"

Shaking my head, I pulled the blanket up and slid in next to him, the boy moving over so I didn't hit him. "Nah, it's too much of an effort. I'm tired after today and so are you, I really don't feel like fighting. I feel like sleep and warmth. So…goodnight." I rolled away from him and snuggled down onto the pillow, perfectly content with my awesomely warm blanket.

Just as I was drifting off, Natsu began to shift from behind me. "Luce?"

"Mn?"

"You're really cool, you know that?"

I rolled over to come face to face with his pink hair, onyx eyes and uncharacteristically serious face. "Yes I do. Why are you asking this?"

He shrugged under the blankets. "I just wanted to make sure you knew how awesome you were. You're a really cool person and," his words were interrupted by a massive yawn that showed off his elongated canines. "I just wanted you to know that you're one of my Nakama." His eyes drifted shut slightly.

I could feel my face heating up from his honest and simple words. "So you think we're friends?"

His eyes opened at my question. "Of course you are Luce. You're a great friend and I hope you stick around for ages."

I smiled at that. "You couldn't get rid of me that easily Dragneel, not even if you tried."

He grinned at me in response before his eyes drifted shut again. "G'night Luce."

Huddling my head down I replied. "Night Natsu."

* * *

**Well…that was…interesting to say the least.**

**I **_**was **_**going to write it as basically the same as the canon version, albeit with Tia's sarcastic comments and her interventions. But then I realised that this was **_**my **_**story and that I could do whatever the fuck I wanted to it!**

**So shucks to you if you don't like it.**

**And the whole pimp and bitch thing, I really have no idea, but you should know now that Tia got up to some bad stuff in her first life. Bad, **_**illegal**_** things. **

**And you know something else? How fucking hard is it to write a **_**friendship **_**between Natsu and Tia, without it being all romantic?!**

**Just to get something straight, Tia and Natsu? It might or might not happen, I don't know! Tia's personality is a lot different from Lucy's so it's kind of hard to know how Natsu would've reacted if Lucy had an attitude like Tia's, instead of her girly one. The two become really good friends really quickly, so just to clarify right now.**

**NATSU AND TIA ARE JUST FRIENDS!**

**Okay? Okay.**

**Tia is not blushing because Natu's cute or anything like that. She's blushing because he's complimenting her kindly and honestly, and he's also declared her his friend. Now, Tia won't be some chick who had no friends, but she will treasure any sort of relationship she can get. Whether it be family, friend or love.**

**Oui? Oui.**

**Thanks for the wait! (P.S. Biggest chappie yet with over 7,000 words! *Party poppers go off* Hooray!)**

**Ciao.**


	9. Titania

**I believe this is the last time I shall be updating this story for a while as school is about to start. That bastard. Anyway, I just wanted to sincerely thank all the people who have read this story. It gives me great joy for people to comment on my stories and this one is no exception.**

**Just to answer a question that has come up, and I **_**did **_**answer it in the last chapter. Will Natsu and Tia/Lucy get together? **_**I don't know.**_** Yes, maybe, or no, it doesn't really matter right now because this isn't a romance story. If you want bleeding romance, go find some fluff, this is a story with a plot line and the whole shazzam. Some love **_**may **_**come into the story later, but I'm not wanting that.**

**SO TO CLARIFY! NATSU AND TIA ARE JUST FUCKING FRIENDS!**

**If I repeat this one more time, I'm going to fucking kill someone.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_If I owned FT, would I be sitting at home writing this?_

**Warning: **_Language, fighting and…Erza_

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

The morning had started out great, but there was a sense of foreboding in my gut that made me rather edgy. I had long since learned to listen to my gut, the years of near fatal hits only made _near _by its warning made it my most trusted companion.

If that doesn't sound too weird.

"Are you alright Lucy?"

Jerking in my seat at the bar, I faced a happily fish munching Happy with a small smile. "I think so Happy."

"You either know or you don't." Natsu's voice came from behind me as he slid into a seat and propped himself up on my shoulder, peering over the appendage to see Happy. "Just make up your mind Luce."

Opening my mouth in order to reprimand the boy on using that nickname, I slouched and gave up. "Whatever Natsu, I don't really care." I continued to chew on the heel of white bread I had scabbed off Mirajane as I absently stared into air. 'What was the thing I was feeling anxious about? It was right on the tip of my tongue…'

"GUYS!"

Swivelling in my chair and whacking Natsu in the face as I did so, my eyes fell on the eerily familiar scene of a panting Loke leaning on the guilds doorframe.

'Oh sweet Kami…'

"IT'S ERZA!" Loke took another gulp of air before finishing what he was trying to say. "SHE'S IN TOWN!"

A vague thought of 'this town' crossed my mind but I waved it off in order to realise that…I had fucking forgotten about Erigor and Lullaby!

"Oh crap!" Natsu clung to my arm as panic was wrought throughout the guild by screaming guild members. "Not Erza!"

I tilted my head and grinned down at his quivering form. "Titania? She sounds strong. And I hear that she's one of your S-class mages, capable of re-quipping at a speed no one has ever seen." I paused and thought of what I had just said. "That rhymed."

Natsu opened his mouth to reply, but was drowned out by a clanking noise that was easily heard through the sudden silence of the guild.

A beautiful red head dressed in a skirt and accompanying armour walked into the guild with an air of purpose, dropping the large decorative horn when she stood in the middle. Erza seemed to stare around the guild before turning to a nearby Mirajane.

"Is the Master in, Mira?"

The white-haired girl shook her head in reply. "I'm sorry Erza, but he's just left on his trip to the meeting of guild masters. He won't be back for a couple of days."

Erza sighed before nodding her head in thanks. "Thank you Mira, I guess I'll just have to fix this on my own." She fixed her gaze on Nab who stood near the request board as usual. "Why are you still standing by the request board Nab? Just chose one job and stop blocking the board."

The male flinched and inched away discreetly.

"Wakaba." The pipe in Wakaba's lips trembled at Erza's stern gaze. "Yes?"

"No smoking inside the guild, your ashes get everywhere."

"A lady shouldn't drink like that Cana."

Erza continued to rattle off at several guild members and it took all of my strength not to burst out laughing when she said at the end of her tirade, that she was going to go easy on them and not say much.

"Not say much?" Natsu muttered from where he hid behind me. "She bloody said everything."

"Natsu. Gray."

The pink-haired boy squeaked before jumping out from behind me and saluting. "Aye ma'am?" Gray followed closely behind him, saluting her in his current state of half-nakedness.

"Put on some clothes Gray, we don't need such habits in the guild." Erza watched him with a stern eye as he looked around frantically for his shirt. "I-I swear it was here just before!"

Taking pity on the boy, I stood up from my stool and wandered over to the increasingly frantic male. "Here's your shirt Gray."

The boy slumped in relief and took his shirt from my hands, tugging it on quickly as to not incur Erza's wrath on him. "Thanks Lucy, you always-"

"Seem to be able to find your clothes." I finished for him with a laugh. "I've either stolen the clothing for a dare, or I'm just keeping tabs on it. Kami knows no one else does in here." I crossed my arms across my lizard hide vest before turning to face Erza. "My name's Lucy, Titania. I'm a new member of this guild and I am offering my skills as a Celestial mage to its service." I bowed my head to her respectively. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Brown eyes looked me up and down before Erza nodded approvingly. "You may call me Erza, Lucy. And I'm quite happy for our guild to have your abilities." The girl tugged my right hand from under my armpit before she pumped it with a crushing grip. "I look forward to working with you in the future."

Retracting my slightly sore hand, I tucked it back under the other before replying. "If I may, I would like to join you in the mission you have set yourself."

Erza raised a thin eyebrow at me. "And what do you know of my 'mission?'"

"Enough for me to come in handy," I replied. "I have informants and I was told about the death flute, much like you have heard. Am I correct?"

Erza glared at me with suspicion before relaxing and nodding. "I would be glad of your assistance in this matter."

"Thank you." I bowed my head once more before stepping back to stand beside a baffled Gray.

"What…" He looked at me incredulously. "The fuck was up with that speech? I never want to hear such polite words come from your usually filthy mouth."

I grinned up at him (both he and Natsu were taller damn it!) before punching him playfully on the arm. "That's because she demands my respect. You on the other hand, are beneath me by _far_." I flicked my ponytail haughtily just to seal the deal.

"Oh you little bitch…"

"Gray." Erza glared at Gray as he snapped to attention. "I am requesting both you and Natsu something of great importance." Her eyes landed on me and I quirked my mouth up in a smile. "And it seems we will be accompanied by Lucy."

I could feel Natsu's rising temperature from where I was, but it was greatly buffered by Gray's opposite of dropping temperature.

"What is it Erza?" Natsu asked arrogantly. "'Cause I'm more than enough for whatever it is you need. Gray is too weak for this anyway."

Gray went to reply but I quickly cut him off."You don't even know what's happening here you idiot, so don't assume anything." I put my hands on my hips and leaned around Gray to glare at Natsu angrily. "And you better not be implying that I'm weak, 'cause I kicked your ass yesterday, didn't I?"

"Fluke!" Howled Natsu and clenched his fists at me. "Rematch!"

"Enough!"

Natsu flinched at Erza's commanding voice. "A-aye!"

Deciding to rib him for that later, I plucked a floating Happy out of the air and settled him down on my head before listening to Erza.

"I want you two." Erza pointed at Natsu and Gray before crooking the finger at herself. "To join together with me to join a team."

There was a moment of pure silence. And then – in true Fairy Tail fashion – all hell broke loose.

A duel yell of 'WHAT?!' Exploded from Natsu and Gray, while everyone else in the guild broke into a flurry of not-so-quiet whispers and exclamations of 'what is Erza thinking?!'

This activity was going to continue for a while, so I casually began to fiddle with Happy's hanging tail, stroking the fur in a way I knew he liked it.

"Working with this Ash-for-brains?!"

"I'm not working with a stripping popsicle!"

Natsu and Gray dissolved into bickering as Happy purred on my head. My nose was going tingly from the rattling his purring was causing. What a strange sensation.

"Quiet you two!" Erza raised her voice, causing everybody else in the large building to fall silent once more. "You shall work with me, and together. That is final."

Her glare left no room for disagreement and Natsu and Gray slung arms around each other, sweating profoundly. "A-aye!"

A short gasp from Mirajane who stood to my left drew my attention to the girl who had a hand covering her mouth. "This might just be the strongest team in Fairy Tail!"

I rolled my eyes before beginning to wander out of the guild, Happy still perched on my head. "Well, I'm a going to grab some stuff and I'll meet you at the train station." I waved at the still stunned guild members before exiting the guild entirely. "They are such a melodramatic bunch in there."

"Aye!"

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

A bored blonde lolled on a wooden bench in a busy train station. She sprawled to cover the whole thing, one arm flung behind the back rest and the other absently stroking a strangely blue cat that nestled in her lap.

"They're taking so loooong," moaned Lucy. "Why are they taking so long?!"

She got no reply to Happy who was currently nestled in her lap, he had fallen asleep around the ten minute mark of waiting. Lucy had easily swung by her place to pick up her sword that she had decided to leave home for that day. After finding her new pair of boots – Lucy still missed that one boot that she had left at the mansion of Duke Everlue – the girl had instantly made her way to the train station to meet up with her companions. Unfortunately, she found herself waiting for over half an hour for them to arrive.

"I don't want to go on a train."

Lucy perked up at hearing the familiar whining voice. Tucking Happy in one arm, she stood up and whirled to point accusingly at Natsu. "You bastard! How long does it take for you to grab some stuff and get to a bleeding station?! What were you doing? Your make up?"

Natsu held his arms up in surrender at the angry blondes advance on him. "Erza held us up at the guild to reprimand me and Gray for fighting, it's not my fault!"

Lucy relaxed and lowered her arm. "I guess I'll have to let you off." She suddenly quirked an eyebrow at him, her browns eyes alight with mischief. "But I didn't know you knew a word as advanced as 'reprimand' Natsu. I'm proud of you."

"Aw, shut up." Natsu said good-naturedly as he pushed her shoulder.

"Hey loser and Lucy." Gray smirked at the two as he came onto the scene. "Are you guys prepared to be amazed by my awesome-"

"Stripping skills?"

Gray glared at an innocent looking Lucy. "You keep your mouth shut blondey, if you know what's good for you."

Lucy shrugged before taking a seat on her bench, patting a still sleeping Happy. "I know vegetables are good for me, but what aim are you going for, Gray?"

Gray rolled his eyes at her annoying way of comebacks before he slung himself over the back of the bench and lay out on the rest of the bench that was available. But he made sure that his head jutted annoyingly into Lucy's side, he wanted a reaction from her, she hadn't had a fit of rage since two weeks ago and he was bored of her irritating calmness.

Lucy hid a grin at Gray's attempt at being irritating – didn't he know she had a younger sister! – and just to annoy him, she simply raised the hand that wasn't stroking Happy in order to ruffle his hair softly. "That's cute, but I'm way more irritating than you."

A frown crossed Gray's face, but he ignored it in order to enjoy Lucy's slender fingers untangling his hair.

"Aw, Lucy!" Natsu whined at girl from his new position of standing behind her. "Why don't you ever do that for me?!"

"You never ask you dolt."

"But if I asked, would you do it?"

"Sure, why not."

Natsu gave a small cheer. "Then you'll do it on the train!"

"I said ask, not demand." Lucy smirked at the Dragon Slayer's pout before taking the hand off Gray's head in order to wave at an entering Erza. "Hello Erza. We're all here and ready to go!"

"Excellent." Erza tugged the rope in her hand so that her massive trundle of baggage may slide to a stop next to her. "We shall board the train right away."

"Ugh." Natsu's face turned green and he covered his mouth with both hands. "Why can't we walk?..." He dry heaved at the mere thought of boarding a moving object, and Lucy hurriedly shoved him away before he could even _think _of throwing up on her. "You will not be sick on me Dragneel! So be a good boy and hurry up and get on the fucking train!"

"Language," warned Erza. To which, Lucy shrugged to. "Eh, language is just language, no matter how flowery or crude." She pushed Gray's head off her and picked up Happy, not minding to the thud and curse that came from Gray hitting the wooden slates of the bench. "Let's go already, I don't want to miss the train."

"Erza!" Natsu seemed recovered enough to yell at the girl and hold his fits up determinedly in front of her. "I'll go on this mission with you guys," his grin flashed his lengthy canines. "If you fight me when we get back."

"Oi, oi." Gray grabbed his shoulder anxiously. "Are you mad?!"

"I accept."

Gray turned to Erza incredulously, mouth open to speak, but quickly looked between the determined two mages. "Aw, screw it, you guys do whatever."

"Very well." Lucy placed Happy on her head and adjusted her sword on her back. "Let's get started."

* * *

Lucy hummed absently as she continued to stroke Natsu's hair. She really should've been paying attention to Erza's explanation of Lullaby and of Erigor's guild, Eisenwald, but it wasn't like she had never heard it before.

"Lucy?"

The blonde blinked and nodded to the questioning Erza. "Yes? What is it?"

Erza leant forward over her crossed arms to peer intently at an unfazed Lucy. "I want to know if you have anything more to add. And also, how did you come by this information? Or even knew that I was going to be taking this…'mission' of a sort?"

A fluctuation of panic made Lucy's heart race and her movements stop, but at Natsu's pitiful groan from her lap, she answered the mage's questions hesitantly.

"Well, there is nothing more to be added to your explanation, either than the fact that I know that the master of Eisenwald is a man called Erigor. Or as he likes to be called, Shingami, the Death God."

"A bit up himself isn't he?" Commented Gray from where he was staring out the window next to Erza.

"Mn," agreed Lucy. "He uses wind magic, but that's all I know of him. Lullaby on the other hand…" The blonde bit her lip and fiddled with some of Natsu's pink hair. "It's a death magic that originates from Zeref's own magic. They say, when you play it, anybody who hears the sound instantly dies. I don't know the theory on it, but I'm guessing that there's some sort of enchantment to keep the actual wielder from dying, although I can't be too sure. One thing that I do know," Lucy's gaze hardened as she stared out into the peaceful land going by. "We'll all be fucked if we don't stop it from sounding."

It was obvious how upset Erza was about the whole situation since she didn't scold Lucy for swearing – something that she really didn't like if it wasn't necessary. "Then I hope we can reach them in time to stop them."

Gray nodded his agreement before everyone slowly relaxed.

"Are you not going to ask about anyone's magic Lucy?" Happy asked innocently from his position on said girls' head. "I mean, have you even seen them use it?"

A smile lifted Lucy's lips. "I'm not going to ask because I already know, cat. Natsu is a Fire Dragon Slayer, and is fairly capable of handling himself in a fight."

"F-fair-rly ca-apable?" Choked out Natsu from Lucy's lap.

The blonde just laughed lightly and patted his cheek. "I've heard gossip about your abilities, yet I haven't seen them yet. You never seem to do much of the fighting in our jobs."

Natsu made sounds of protest but quickly found that it only upset his stomach more. "Y-you!"

"Yes me," Lucy said in amused tone. "I'm a Celestial mage with the ability to use hand-to-hand combat and a sword effectively alongside my spirits."

Erza tilted her head in appreciation to the information. "I hope that you are able to wield that sword effectively."

"Oh yes." A grin stretched across Lucy's face, making Gray shiver in fear. "I'm quite good with my sword."

'It's like another Erza!' Gray just wanted to cry.

"Not as good as Erza 'Titania' Scarlet, resident S-class mage of Fairy Tail and known wielder of a formidable re-quip magic." Lucy continued. "And of course, last but definitely least, there's Gray Fullbuster."

The Ice mage glared at her before smirking defiantly. "What do you have on me? My amazing molding magic? My ability to-"

"Ice mage of Fairy Tail with several warrants of arrest for indecent dressing in public." Lucy laughed at Gray's scowl. "But still, well known for his speed in inanimate molding magic. Are you happy?"

"He's not Happy!" Shouted Happy indignantly. "I'm Happy!"

Lucy laughed again and tapped the cat's nose. "You're also cute."

* * *

Gray let out a hum of thought over the roar of the magic four-wheeler. "I can't believe we forgot Natsu.

"Eh, I'm sure he's fine."

Gray raised an eyebrow at Lucy's dismissive tone as she swerved around a corner, drifting slightly as she changed gears. "You sound very uncaring about this whole situation. And where'd you learn how to drive! You're like, younger than me!"

Lucy laughed at the wind making her hair tangle behind her. "I've known how to drive for years! I've probably been driving longer than Erza! I'm probably better to. Well," the blonde lowered her voice so that Gray couldn't hear. "Better at outdriving people when they're chasing me."

"Did you say something?" Came Gray's voice from inside the carriage.

"Nope!" Lucy could now see the now stationary train in the distance. "Is Erza awake yet? That was a hard punch she punished herself with!"

"I'm quite alright, Lucy." Erza crawled out of the carriage window and made her way across the side to sit next to Lucy, not knowing that she was flashing a steaming Gray behind her. "Are we nearing the train soon?"

"Yep." Lucy pumped more magic into the SE-plug and howled in excitement as the four-wheeler gunned beneath her. "Do you mind taking the wheel? I want to get a better view on the train."

Erza nodded in bafflement as she took the SE-plug from Lucy and quickly poured magic into it so that the four-wheeler wouldn't slow its' frantic pace. 'Where could Lucy go to get a better view?'

Crouching on the side of the four-wheeler to let Erza sit behind the wheel, Lucy grinned reassuringly at the girl before hoisting herself up onto the roof, ignoring both Gray and Erza's frantic shouts. "I fucking love doing this again. It's been too long." The blonde quickly crawled across the roof, keeping low so as to not be torn off the roof by the howling winds.

She kept an eye on the – slowly beginning to move – train as they pulled up beside it, not knowing where exactly Natsu would come from.

A shattering of glass drew her attention to directly in front of her, and Natsu came flying out of the window with his arms crossed in front of him to ward off the glass shards.

"Natsu!"

The Fire mage's eyes widened to see his blonde friend standing on the roof of a vehicle, her arms wide as if to hug him.

"Lucy move!"

The girl stubbornly stood her ground as Natsu went uncontrollably barrelling into her. A grunt brushed his ear as her arms wrapped around him and they went toppling back. His eyes widened as he looked over Lucy's shoulder to see only the ground. This was going to hurt. Bad.

Then the ground suddenly flipped and he found himself sliding back, still in Lucy's arms.

The Celestial mage hissed as her new boots tried to break her ankles. So maybe catching Natsu and back flipping to lessen the force wasn't one of her _best _ideas. But she didn't regret it as she awesomely hit the ground feet first and slid backwards, her feet digging grooves into the ground as they tried to slow her backwards momentum.

"Jashin. Fucking. Damn." Lucy pushed a stunned Natsu off her and upright before inspecting her legs for any damage. "Okay, so no injuries. I'll say that was a success." She lifted her head up to grin wolfishly at a still stunned Natsu. "How do you like that catch? I say that was a classic catch!"

"Lucy!" Erza jumped off the front of the stationary magic four-wheeler and advanced furiously on the reckless girl. "What the hell do you think you were doing?!"

Lucy crinkled her nose as she shook the tingly feeling residing in her legs out. "It was the logical thing to do. If Natsu continued at the speed he was going at, the force in which he would've hit the ground would've _ensured _that he would be knocked out or concussed. The only way to slow him down was to place something in his way to lessen the velocity and force. I am _in no circumstances _going to use one of my spirits as a pillow. As such, I used myself." The blonde gave a sniff and determined her legs to be fine. "It's not like I was injured or anything."

Erza gaped at the girl. For such reckless – Natsu-like! – behaviour, she had a perfectly sound and persuading way to convince people that such behaviour was correct. But it wasn't! Yet, Erza had no way to reply to the girl.

At seeing Erza's predicament, Gray decided to smooth the whole thing over. Hopping out through the window, he trudged over and gave Lucy a solid punch in the arm, ignoring her yelp of pain. "What'd I tell you about using polite words in your filthy mouth?"

Lucy rubbed her arm and scowled at him. "Whatever. Let's just hurry up and get in the bloody car." She ignored the surrounding people's confused looks at her last word and tugged a still speechless Natsu towards the vehicle. "We've got stuff to do and people to save."

Erza's brain started at Lucy's reminder and she quickly hurried over to the driving seat. "Get in Gray! We haven't got a moment to lose!"

Gray blinked at her before walking over to the vehicle, muttering all the while. "Oh so Gray is the one suddenly in fault."

"What was that Gray?!"

"N-nothing!"

Over by the four-wheeler, Natsu began to struggle when he realised that he was going to be put inside a moving object, but he couldn't do anything as Lucy showed her impressive strength by lifting him up and tossing him through the window, not caring that he hit his head or that Happy nearly got squished under him.

She grabbed the roof and swung her legs up and through the window, narrowly missing Natsu. Shoving him over so that she could sit down, she peered through the small opening of the window at Gray. "You getting in or what, Fullbuster?"

Gray grumbled some more before answering the blonde. "There's probably not enough room, so I guess I'll have to just ride on top." He made to grab the roof and climb up, but found his – miraculously still on – shirt being tugged by an arm.

"There's plenty of room." Lucy began to pull him through the window. "You just sit on the other side of me and Natsu and we'll just crush our legs in. Okay?" The girl didn't wait for an answer before pulling Gray right through the window and onto the seat opposite her. "Okay. Let's go Erza!" She rapped the wall behind her and listened with a smile as the four-wheel roared to a start beneath her. "Love that sound."

Natsu disagreed in his head, but couldn't say anything out loud since he was holding back the vomit he wished to let up.

"I've got him." Gray turned the motion sick mage so that his head could hang out of the window. "But what are we going to do about space?"

Lucy tossed him a grin before chucking her legs up to sprawl across him and onto the small space on the seat next to him. "I'm good."

Happy settled himself down on Lucy's lap and raised a paw. "Aye! I'm good."

Natsu barely took up any space as majority of him was hanging out of the window, only stopped by an absent hand of Lucy's. He's…good enough.

Gray muttered something under his breath as he tried to get comfortable. His legs were cramped in the small space already and it didn't help that Lucy had her legs over his. Erza's maniac driving didn't help _at all_ as Lucy's legs constantly thumped against his, the bone making odd knocking sounds as they did. He let another sigh and turned to face out the window that Natsu wasn't blocking. "This will be a _long _ride. I just know it."

* * *

The four-wheeler skidded to a stop and tilted at a ridiculous angle as it hit the curb. Erza calmly undid the SE-plug and stepped off the front, opening the door for her companions to get out.

Natsu came first. Yelling in victory and leaping in joy, Happy fluttering around his head.

Gray came out with a sway, still not yet over the terrifying journey that was Erza's driving. He paused to look at the open door Erza held before shaking his head and moving on. "A door. There was a bloody door this whole time…"

With an excited bounce, Lucy excited the car, her face stretched in a massive grin that surprised Erza. Lucy didn't seem to be one of those people to grin as big as Natsu, more small smiles and smirks.

"That was awesome!" Lucy thanked Erza before closing the door and ushering ahead. "But I dibs driving next! We're going to go faster this time!"

A moan of 'no' came from Gray and Lucy grinned wider – if that was even humanely possible – at the sound.

After a few moments of running, in which Erza took charge of the group since she knew where she was going, the mages finally made it to Oshibana station. This was where an explosion was said to have just happened, occurring to a bunch of civilians that Lucy had asked.

"I can smell smoke," Natsu said as he sniffed the air. "It's getting stronger. Hard left and then we're there."

The group nodded and sped up to round the corner, only to slow back down at the sight of a partially destroyed train station.

"Damn." Lucy let out a low whistle before racing ahead of them, intent on asking the guards there before someone – _coughcough_Erza_cough _– could get to them.

Approaching an officer with a microphone, she smiled politely at him and dipped her head in respect. "Sir, we are mages of the guild Fairy Tail and we have come to restrain the mages that have caused the destruction to your station. Do you min-"

Lucy was cut off by a wild Erza suddenly head butting the man into unconsciousness. "Too slow!"

To say Lucy was surprised by the rather rude interruption was to say that Natsu only destroyed a few walls on jobs. In fact, she was rather mad.

"ERZA!" Lucy advanced on the girl who had knocked another unknowing officer out. "STOP THAT RIGHT NOW YOU IDIOT!"

Natsu, Gray and Happy trembled at both Lucy's furious tone and the glare of death that Erza activated when she turned to Lucy.

"Somebody's going to die!" Natsu took a step back as Erza advanced on Lucy,

"A-aye!" Gray could only watch in horror as Lucy didn't back down.

"Bye Lucy." Happy draped himself over Natsu's shoulder. "I liked your patting."

"What did you say Lucy?" Erza glared at the girl who dared to stop her from finding out the situation that was currently going on inside the station.

"You don't scare me Titania," snarled Lucy. "Now shut up and listen to me." Erza didn't reply as she was too surprised at the girls' anger and the fact that she attacking her with her words. Erza was_ never _questioned.

"That is no way to go about this situation!" Lucy jabbed her fingers into Erza's breastplate, earning herself dull ringing in answer. "These officers have done nothing to incur you _fucking knocking them unconscious!_ That is no way to deal with this situation and we would already be inside if you let them speak!" Lucy let out a sigh and relaxed, kneading her temples angrily. "Now I've gotten all worked up and we're wasting more time." The blonde turned to one of the remaining officers and asked him politely the situation that was going on inside the guild.

The man stammered slightly before taking heart in the fact that she was on his side and that she was being patient with him. He straightened up and gave her a detailed report on how a man with a scythe leading an abundance of mages had charged through the guards and had effectively evacuated the station with a series of explosions. He went on to sketch a scene of them holing themselves up, giving exact times and numbers. When he finished, he gave a stiff salute to the female before going to help his fellow officers.

"I thank you kindly." Lucy bowed to the young male before whirling around and stalking off to the entrance. "We shall help the situation here in any way we can, please evacuate the remaining people of this area and possibly the town. A large area, death magic may be played and I don't want civilians being caught in the radius.

The man nodded alongside the comrades he managed to awaken. They gathered themselves up and set out to do the task that the confident girl set them.

Lucy nodded to herself as the officers moved out before turning to a gobsmacked trio of males that were her comrades. "I would normally suggest a sneak attack in situations like this. But," she eyed Natsu and Erza before continuing. "I believe that your skills are not set to that task. So we shall judge the situation once we get in and go from there. Are we clear?"

Gray, Natsu and Happy saluted her crisply. "Yes, ma'am!"

A tense smile crossed Lucy's face before she looked to a silent Erza. "Come now, Titania, we shall head in now. Be prepared for anything."

The loose ends of Lucy's sleeves and shirt fluttered as she turned on her heel and stalked towards the station entrance, only looking back to beckon the stunned mages forwards.

"Holy shit," breathed Gray as he ran up the stairs after Lucy. "I've never seen someone take charge from Erza like that."

Natsu nodded tensely just behind him. "I don't know if I should be amazed or terrified."

"Aye!" Chipped in the ever cheerful Happy as he held onto Natsu's scarf.

The two mages and one he-cat sprinted up the last of the stairs to fall into step beside a purposeful Lucy.

'She took charge like I meant nothing." Erza's brow crinkled as she stood in the same spot. 'She told me what I was doing was wrong and that I was an idiot.' The Re-quip mage slowly began to make her way up the stairs, her steps quickening with every second. 'She wielded authority like I do, but with kindness and politeness.' Vaulting the last few steps, Erza began to catch up with her comrades. 'So what the hell am I, if not a leader?'

"I beg your pardon, Titania, for my earlier comments."

Erza stiffened and slowed her steps as Lucy dropped back to jog beside her. "What do you mean by that, Lucy?"

The blonde ruffled her hair before answering in a tired tone. "I took charge when I was clearly under your command. I have broken the chain of command and for that, I am sorry. I shouldn't have questioned your techniques out loud, even if I did not like them. That was not how a lesser should act to their leading officer. I beg your pardon once again."

Erza's mouth didn't move to answer as she stared at the back of Natsu's and Gray's bobbing hair as they approached the station doors. Lucy took that as her cue to pull ahead from the female and away from the increasingly awkward situation.

Tossing one last look at the mage behind her, Lucy steeled her resolve before yelling out to Natsu who was just in front of her. "Natsu! Knock it down!"

"Un!" Natsu's fists caught fire and he leapt up, fist ready to punch the doors down. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" The attack connected solidly and blew the doors out into the station with a blast of fire and smoke. The mages didn't falter and charged right through the explosion, but Lucy lagged slightly and hesitated to leap through the flames.

'They're not the same you dolt!' Lucy reprimanded herself as she leapt through the flames and skidded to a stop beside Natsu. 'Stop being scared!'

She was met with a large crowd of mages – all males those sexist pigs – who turned in one group to glare at the group of Fairy Tail mages.

"Oh my." A smirk worked its' way across Lucy's face and her soft voice that echoed in the silent cavern of the station caught the attention of the Eisenwald members. "It seems that we've stumbled across something we were probably not meant to see. How troublesome." The blonde sighed a tilted her head to the side. "I guess we'll just have to apprehend the people who did this."

A large symphony of snickers broke out across the members, making them swirl like reeds in the breeze.

"What are you going to do maggots?!" A male with spiky hair shaped into a ponytail stepped forward with a leer. "You are no match for the likes of Eisenwald."

"How cliché," Lucy muttered.

"YOU'RE THE BASTARD WHO SMASHED MY FACE IN!" Natsu screamed at the male, brandishing his arms angrily. "I'LL SHOW YOU NO MATCH, YA DICK!"

"Natsu," said Erza warningly, finally getting her steam back. "Let us find out what is going on before we attack."

Cackling laughter rung out and Erza snapped her gaze up to a man with spiky white hair, dressed in what seemed to be just a black scarf of shredded cloth. "You guys are all just maggots waiting to be killed Fairy scum! You've made a mistake in attacking the great Shingami, Erigor!"

'Oh Kami, here comes the evil person talk. Fuck, I don't want to listen to this.' Lucy's eyes narrowed on the form of the male who first spoke. 'Kageyama, Shadow Mountain? That's, really unoriginal. It really doesn't help that he looks like Shikamaru.' She let out a low thrum before her eyesight locked onto a still boasting Erigor. 'He's probably implying that he's going to broadcast Lullaby right now.' Focusing on the black scarf, she suppressed a chuckle. 'Voldermort's clothing. How many fandoms are in this show?'

"We'll stop you Erigor!" Erza's booming shout made Lucy's ears ring. "Come down here and fight us you coward!"

"I have no time to deal with pathetic maggots like you." Erigor began to laugh as he floated up, enjoying the shocked gasps from the Fairy scum. Well, almost all. The blonde girl was looking at him, completely unimpressed. Erigor guessed he just had to amaze her with his next trick. "I'm quite busy killing off the worthless lives of the people around here. I won't see you around, Fairy maggots."

Erigor's form wavered before it seemingly disappeared.

"Come back here!" Natsu growled after the man. "He ran like a coward!"

"Natsu, Gray!" Erza swung her arm towards the nearest corridor in the station. "After him!"

The two males made to argue, but Lucy blocked their attempt with a stern look towards Erza. "That is not advisable Titania. Both Gray and Natsu are wide-spread magic users, they would be more advisable to stay here to deal with the canon fodder."

A couple of angry yells sounded from the surrounding Eisenwald members, but were dismissed by a wave of Lucy's hand.

"Natsu and I should go as Natsu will be able to sniff out anybody and I am statistically faster than him, highly likely making me faster than Gray." Lucy stared down at Erza, daring her to go against her logic. "If you do not have any qualms, Natsu and I shall head out."

There was a tense moment before Erza nodded. "Fine. Leave now and hurry up and catch him!"

Lucy nodded in reply before grabbing Natsu's wrist and beginning to run, dragging the male until he righted himself and sprinted alongside the blonde. Erza and Gray watched the two round the corner and disappear out of view before they faced the Eisenwald members.

Gray snuck one last look at Erza, glad that she couldn't hear his thoughts. 'That's the second time Lucy has usurped her command, why hasn't she snapped or something?"

"Re-quip!"

The Ice mage paled as Erza's form was covered in a flash of gold and reappeared in her Heavens Wheel armour. 'Oh god, she's angry. Really angry.'

Brandishing her sword towards the crowd of mages, Erza proudly declared for them to take her on with all they have. Gray, on the other hand, decided to creep away to the other side of the spacious room to fight. He did _not _want to get hit with one of her weapons.

A collective roar went up in the Eisenwald guild and they rushed the two mages, unaware that they had earned their place as some of the best members of Fairy Tail.

"Ice make…!"

"Blumenblatt…!"

* * *

"Slow down Lucy! Geez…"

Lucy ignored her friend in favour of tearing down yet another corridor, Natsu close at her heels. Seeing the split corridor in front of her, she slid to a stop, before Natsu – not seeing that she was stopping – slammed into her and crushed her underneath him as they went sprawling.

"Ow." Lucy spat Natsu's scarf out her mouth and slowly tried to shift him to the side. "C'mon, Natsu, get off of me."

Hearing no reply, the girl began to get angry. "I swear to fucking Jashin Natsu, if you don't…" The words died in her throat as she looked back at her friends face. "Oh. Sweet. Kami-sama."

* * *

**Dun. Dun. DUUUNNN!**

**Cliffhanger biatches. Have fun with that.**

**Anybody notice that I put a little future plot thing in there? Why'd Lucy hesitate to jump through the explosion? Are you all curious? 'Cause I'm excited to write it as it will be my own part in the Fairy Tail plot that doesn't apply to the real storyline, but does add somewhat to this one.**

**Be intrigued, very intrigued.**

**Oh, and Lucy beating Erza down? What! I put that in because a lot of people were going on about it and I had to agree with them. Lucy/Tia wouldn't be very good friends with Erza at the start. Even though they could be very similar, Lucy has a disregard for authority if she finds it stupid. As Erza's act of knocking people out was.**

**Like seriously, in the anime it was funny, but when you think about it, Erza's being a stupid bitch and wasting time. And sending Natsu and Gray to chase Erigor, even though they are the better suited for bigger crowds was stupid. **_**Especially **_**since Erza left herself with a girl whose magic she didn't even ask about. **

**Great job Erza. You are such an appealing character.**

**But fret not dear readers, I admire Erza and she will redeem herself later on. I find her general awkwardness to be amusing and her strength to be legendary.**

**So, love you all and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I found it great to write and I am proud of it.**

**See you all soon! **

**Maybe.**

**Hopefully.**

**I really don't know…**

**Just, bye.**


	10. Shadow Bust

**Just managed to slip this in! So happy about that. Ten bucks says though that his chapter will take some time to write. Bloody AFL basically breaking my arms…**

**Do you know how much it hurts to have a ball hit your arms point blank off some bitches boot? Or getting a left hook, a ball and someone else's head to your face? IN THE SAME SPOT. Fuck. It hurts. But I got left home alone as a result, to recuperate, so…ta daa~!**

**Love y'all reviewers and readers.**

* * *

**Disclaimer:** _Nearly forgot to put this in...Don't own_

**Warning: **_Violence and language, my two favourite things_

* * *

**Previously: **_"Slow down Lucy! Geez…"_

_Lucy ignored her friend in favour of tearing down yet another corridor, Natsu close at her heels. Seeing the split corridor in front of her, she slid to a stop, before Natsu – not seeing that she was stopping – slammed into her and crushed her underneath him as they went sprawling._

"_Ow." Lucy spat Natsu's scarf out her mouth and slowly tried to shift him to the side. "C'mon, Natsu, get off of me."_

_Hearing no reply, the girl began to get angry. "I swear to fucking Jashin Natsu, if you don't…" The words died in her throat as she looked back at her friends face. "Oh. Sweet. Kami-sama."_

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

I struggled as Natsu's body weight bore down on my back, pinning my arms beneath his own. "What do you eat Natsu? You weigh a fucking ton!"

A few more moments of awkward wriggling meant I got an arm free, and it was with a sense of victory that I pushed an unconscious Natsu off me with my right arm.

Yes, you heard me. **Unconscious.**

It seemed like when he collided with me and we went down, he had hit his head on the stone floor. He was taller than me, so his head must've bent at a funny angle over my own, hitting the ground in the process. And judging by the red tinge appearing on his right temple that was where he got hit. An instant KO.

"What am I meant to do now…?" I stared down at Natsu's unconscious body, very aware that Kageyama was lurking around nearby, along with that fat dude who could go through walls. Why did he want to kill Kageyama again?

Huffing out a breath, I pulled Natsu up to a sitting position with some difficulty. I let go of him with my left hand and fumbled around my belt until I managed to flip open my pouch flap. Brushing my fingers against the keys, I quietly called out one of my spirits. "Taurus?"

There was a doorbell chime and my cow spirit appeared in a flash, beaming at me. Well actually, not at me, at my boobs.

"Heloooo Luuuuc-"

"I'm very sorry Taurus but I'm on a bit of a time schedule." Smiling slightly at Taurus, I gestured towards Natsu who I was still struggling to keep upright with my right arm. "So do you mind carrying my friend for me? I would normally just take him, but I want my hands to be free if anything comes along."

Taurus nodded in agreement and easily picked Natsu up to sling him over his shoulder. "Anything for yooou Luuuucy-sama!"

My small smile slid off as I began to lead the way towards the right fork in the quiet corridor. Occasionally I could hear and feel a slight rumble, obviously from Gray and Erza's fights that were going on. I just hope they don't trash the station, that would be rather rude.

"What are yoooou looking fooor Luuucy-sama?"

Not turning to face my spirit, I strained my ears to pick up any sounds that would give away Kageyama before replying. "A man called Kageyama. He is part of a dark guild that currently have their hands on a magical artefact of Zeref's. My guild members and I have begun to go against them, but one of them slipped away. Natsu – the boy you're carrying and who is currently groaning from motion sickness. I wonder if that means he's going to wake up soon… – and I chased after the man, Kageyama, but Natsu just knocked himself unconscious. Does that explain the situation, Taurus?"

"It does Luuucy-sama."

We continued on in silence only punctuated by the occasional groan from Natsu. I really hope he wakes up soon, his nose would be _far _better than my weak, human hearing.

Making up my mind, I stopped in the middle of a corridor and put my hands on my hips expectantly.

"What are yooou doooing Luuucy-sama?" Taurus blinked at me as I swivelled around to him. "Doooo yooou sense something?"

"Not quite," was all I said before I glared at the surroundings shadows that the fluorescent lights overhead made. "Come out, Kageyama! I know you're here, so just show yourself! Only cowards dawdle." Hearing no reply, I let a smirk cross my face as I leant forward at the waist. "What? Scared to fight a girl?" My dropped even lower, to a low whisper. "_A fairy maggot girl at that._"

There was a pause and I could see Taurus stare at me dubiously, but that all stopped when a dark shape slowly came out of a nearby shadow on the floor.

The shadows seemed to melt away from the form, colours replacing the darkness as it did. A smirking face with spiky hair leered at me as Kageyama stepped out of the shadows, in flesh now.

"Amazing. I didn't think a maggot could sense a shadow, but you have just proved me wrong. Ah well," he gave a disarming shrug before going back to smirking. "I won't be wrong again."

It took all my willpower not to roll my eyes. People here were _so _dramatic.

Fucking Fiore people.

"Dooo yooou wish me tooo fight him Luuucy-sama?" Taurus asked me, that strange gleam in his eyes that he got whenever he could feel a fight coming. I don't know exactly where that came from, it cropped up about twenty days from Hargeon…

Shrugging in answer and to disperse the thoughts, I waved an absent hand towards Kageyama. "Sure, whatever Taurus. Just don't break him, I need him to answer some of my questions, okay?"

Taurus nodded and carefully placed Natsu down so that he could draw his giant axe. "It wooould be my pleasure Luuuucy-sama!"

A slightly crazed laugh came from Kageyama, something I narrowed my eyes at. An insane opponent was one of the most dangerous. They were often unpredictable and viable to not feel pain as easily as normal people. Kageyama didn't seem too insane in the series, he's probably just a bit hinged. I could deal with that. Several of my previous gang mates were pretty close to the edge of sanity, often teetering back and forth.

"You think that a cow-man could take me?!" Kageyama laughed again before shadows began to pool in his cupped hands. "How dare a maggot like you insult me! I'll show you the power of the greatest guild, Eisenwald!"

"Actually," I inputted matter-of-factly. "The greatest dark guild is Tartaros. The greatest guild though," I gave him a dark look. "That would be Fairy Tail. So, let _me _show you the power of the greatest guild, Fairy tail!" Stabbing my left index finger at Kageyama, my other hand brushed the sword handle on my back. "Attack now Taurus! Blunt force rather than slice 'n' dice!"

"Of cooourse Luuucy-sama!" Taurus's excited cry reached my ears as he rushed past me, down the corridor and towards our opponent.

"I won't let you lay a single hit on me!" Black shadows writhed around Kageyama's hands before spilling out and rushing towards the charging Taurus.

Gritting my teeth, I pumped my legs full of raw magic before sprinting forwards. Taurus didn't pause as I slid in front of him, my sword beating down the shadows with a few swipes of the steel.

A shadow passed over me as Taurus jumped and sliced down with his sword. "Rampage! Mooo!"

The ground rumbled at his devastating move, the ground cracking in a straight line that unsettled Kageyama's balance and obscured his vision with chunks of stone and dust.

Moving from my braced position, I began to run forwards, readying my sword as I called out to Taurus. "Boost, Taurus!"

"Mooo!" Taurus large hand moved into my vision and I tapped a foot onto the appendage, feeling the immense strength that my spirit possessed as he all but threw me up into the air.

I swear, I felt my back brush against the ceiling.

Flipping, I twisted my body so that I was aiming for the dust cloud that contained Kageyama. I didn't yell out or release a war cry; that would be foolish and would guarantee me a world of pain. So I dropped silently into the dust, legs readied to either land or to slam down onto a body.

My feet hit solid stone and I crouched down, making myself small so as to make it harder for anything to hit me.

"Shadow Pull!"

The mass of shadow in shape of a giant hand surprised me. I was expecting a stabbing move, not one of brute force.

As such; I didn't move as the hand slammed down on me, painfully pushing all of the air from my lungs as I hit the unforgiving ground.

My sword was trapped by the fact that my right hand – my sword hand – was twisted awkwardly. I knew that if an abundance of pressure was applied to that area, my right elbow would snap really easily. _Like a twig._

"Taurus!" I wheezed out as I tried to wriggle out from under the shadows shaped by magic. "Switch with Cenas!" I could sense Kageyama approaching and this situation opted for more finesse and accuracy rather than brute force.

"Yes Luuuucy-sama!"

I didn't feel any drain on my magic as Cenas replaced Taurus. It had taken majority of my journey to Hargeon, and a lot of speculating between me and Crux, but we had managed to work out a new idea to Celestial magic. If a gate was already opened for a spirit, who was to say that another spirit couldn't just go through it? I had to ask for permission from all of my spirits, and the technique was hampered by several points, but it was very successful.

As the gate opened for only one mass of magic (i.e. one spirit), only one spirit could come through the gate, so to have another spirit come out, they had to switch with the spirit that had already come through the gate. The technique was also hampered by the fact that whatever spirit that came through the gate second had to have less magic and a smaller form than that of the person before.

Generally, that meant if I summoned a gold gate key, I could easily summon any silver key as the amount of magic they had was significantly less than a gold key, so it outweighed the body mass factor. It was slightly more troublesome with gold keys, but if I first summoned Taurus, anybody could be switched with him. He was my biggest spirit, in both body and magic mass, so I usually opened with him. Just as I did today.

"I'll get you out of there Lucy-chan!" An arrow suddenly came whizzing from out of the dust cloud, slicing through the shadow of hands and dispersing them as it did so.

I jumped up, free, and grinned across to the shadowed form that was slowly appearing through the dispersing dust cloud. "Thanks, Cenas!"

There was a short laugh that I took as an answer before I let the grin slide off my face as I turned to an annoyed Kageyama that was standing in front of me, the glare etched into his face clearly directed towards me. "You're a lively fly, I'll give you that."

My sword made a rasping sound as I slid it across the stone tiled ground. "So I'm a fly now? Not a maggot."

Kageyama sneered before webs of shadows bristled from his own personal shadow. "I'll break that sword of yours, and then that spirit of yours. It'll give me great delight to do so."

I didn't give him an answer merely asking Cenas to stay back as support and to look over the vulnerable Natsu.

"Of course, Lucy-chan."

A silence fell over the situation. The odd sense of a stand-off putting everyone on edge. Who was going to draw first?

There was an unmistakable sound of an arrow being notched, the sound a low rasp of the wooden arrow shaft rubbing against the metal string.

Instantly, Kageyama exploded into action, several fists of shadows launching themselves towards me. "Knuckle Shadow!"

My boots scuffed as I shifted them in small movements in order to weave through the fists, feeling the coldness of the magic and the vague gusts of wind that meant Cenas was firing off arrows in order to disperse some of the fists.

The onslaught died down and my breath hitched with every intake. My back was aching faintly from some of the more rigorous and twisting dodges. Maybe I should do some more flexibility exercises…

"Tch," Kageyama's face twisted in an ugly way and he raised his hand towards Cenas. "That spirit of yours is highly irritating. I guess I'll just have to get rid of it."

"_Him._" Cenas corrected as he notched another arrow to his bow and held it ready in front of his eyes. "And I can shoot down any of your shadows before they can get near me. What do you think you can do that can change that?"

Cenas wasn't arrogant in the way he spoke. He was polite and speaking matter-of-factly; which it was. His ability to shoot had only gotten better with practise, able to notch three arrows and shoot them accurately was one of the many developments he had in abilities.

"Who said I was going to use my Shadow magic?" Kageyama cocked one black eyebrow at Cenas and I felt my stomach drop at the certain expression. It wasn't arrogant like his previous expressions; he _knew _what he was going to do would succeed.

"Move Cenas!" I blurted out but I was too slow as Kageyama's hand flashed a deep purple and Cenas disappeared in a golden flash. No pain or warning. Just…gone.

I raised my sword threateningly towards the bastards' throat. "_What the fuck did you do?_"

Another harsh laugh escaped Kageyama's mouth. "I am able to use not just Shadow magic, but also Dispersing magic! So any little spirit you summon out, I can send back just as quickly! What are you going to do now, Fairy fly?" The last part was said with a leer and a disturbing twist to his head.

Harsh sounds came from my mouth has my teeth tried their best to turn each other into dust. This was why that fat dude was trying to kill Kageyama! He could disperse the wind barrier that surrounded the station; something that Erigor found too dangerous and valuable to let Kageyama live.

Fuck. This whole situation just got a lot more complicated.

Pulling my face into a confident mask, I smirked at Kageyama. "Do you think that I am weak without my spirits? This sword isn't for show, you know?" I caressed my blade in order to emphasise my point. "And I know some wicked hand-to-hand stuff that would make your heart rupture. Literally."

Kageyama didn't seem put out by my slight bluffing, instead, gazing at me with a bored expression before raising his hands again. "I'll finish this in one blow Fairy scum. I find you interesting, and as such, I won't embarrass you any further."

There was a significant increase of magical power in the air and I bared my teeth at the sensation, sword at the ready. "Bring it!"

Shadows pooled and dribbled around Kageyama's hands, this time, tinted by an ominous purple. The magic presence raised again and I could only watch in horror as the shadows twisted themselves into the shapes of demon-eyed snakes. Eight in total.

Kageyama gave me one last smirk before flicking his hands towards me. "Shadow Orochi,"

The snakes writhed and twisted further before twisting and writhing _towards me_.

I let out one comment before they dove down on me, surrounding me on all sides. "_Fucking snakes…_"

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

Erza breathed out a shaky breath as she leaned on one of the many swords she had left scattered across the station in a disarray. "Are you alright, Gray?"

There was a grunt in answer and her comrade slowly walked into her vision, ruffling his hair in order to rid the dark locks of mortar. One of his lances had hit a wall and a bunch of Eisenwald mages had the misfortune to be right underneath it at the time. Gray had just been hit with the explosion of dust and mortar that accompanied it.

"I should be asking you that question, Erza." The Ice make mage let out a noise at the sight of the scattered weapons Erza had wielded, majority of them lying on defeated mages. All who had dazed expressions on their face. "You did a real number on these scum, but you used a lot of magic re-quipping."

Erza merely nodded and tried to gain some strength back after the fight that had just occurred. The mages hadn't been especially strong, there was just _lots _of them. And Erza had wasted a lot of her magic on changing her armour to those that would help the situation. The Knight being only one of many.

Silence fell over the two Fairy Tail mages as they continued to get their breath and magic back. Suddenly, a soft whimper and an influx of magic made Erza snap her head towards one of the walls that weren't destroyed.

She caught the scared face of a chubby, green-haired male before he disappeared fully into the wall, his magic disappearing with him.

"Gray! There's one escaping! He's probably going to broadcast Lullaby!" Erza went to run after the unknown mage, but found her legs buckling.

Hands caught her and lowered her to the ground.

"Don't worry, Erza, I'll get him." Gray looked down at his friend before nodding to himself and running towards the corridor that Lucy and Natsu had gone through only ten minutes or so earlier.

As he ran, Gray could only hope that Lucy and Natsu weren't going to get surprised by the unknown mage. If Erza sounded panicked, than maybe he should be entitled to a bit of worrying.

The gnawing feeling in his gut only spiked as the ground suddenly rocked and a loud explosion rumbled close by, caused an onslaught of air to rush towards Gray from its force.

The Ice mage easily braced himself and didn't budge as the magic-drenched air rushed past. As the wind died down, Gray caught the end of a scream that couldn't be mistaken for anything but a females.

"Lucy!"

Gray picked up the pace and began to run faster along the corridors, following the sounds of explosions to his destination.

'Don't die you stupid girl…'

* * *

The smirk on Kageyama's face only deepened further as the annoying blonde fly let out a piercing scream.

His shadow snakes had converged on her, drowning out her image as they collapsed down onto her, slicing and burning with their rawness. The attack was designed to draw out for a lengthy time, the snakes capable of following anyone to the ends of the Earthland. As such; the fly's' scream was drawn out and high in its tempo and pitch. A sound that Kageyama could fall asleep to.

Casually dispersing his attack, Kageyama looked on the fallen form of the fly with vague interest. Her body was still intact and her sword was still gripped tightly and defiantly in her right hand. Something that Kageyama just itched to crush. Her clothes were torn, her pants shredded and revealing slightly bloody legs. Her creamy sleeves were turning an interesting shade of pink-red that Kageyama could admire, even at his metred distance. The blonde hair twitched and Kageyama's admiration turned to anger as she raised her head shakily to glare at him with dark brown eyes.

"Just die already you fly!" Kageyama snarled and collected more shadows to his hands and lifted them up, preparing for another attack to finally finish off the insistent fly.

He wasn't expecting his vision to suddenly be filled with flames.

* * *

Lucy twitched her head weakly and tried to ignore the burning pain she felt all over her body from the intense magic that had just washed over her. The stone floor swam sickeningly and she had to close her eyes as she raised her head further, only opening them to glare at the bastard who had done this to her.

His amused look changed – satisfyingly to Lucy – to one of great anger. Lucy could only barely see his mouth moving – assumingly, he was talking to her – and his hand burst into shadows, raising up to launch another attack at the vulnerable girl.

'Well fuck, I'm screwed.' Lucy closed her eyes in anticipation for more pain, but only felt a familiar sense of warmth rush over her. She flinched at the feeling of flames, but smiled at who they belonged to.

'Took you long enough sleepy head…'

* * *

In all honesty, Natsu had _no idea _what had made him fall asleep – at least he assumed he fell asleep. What else could've happened – but he knew what woke him up.

A scream of pain had reached his slowly awakening brain and he felt his arms subconsciously twitch, as to lift himself up. The continuous scream only prompted these urges, his eyes snapping open and his arms surging with strength as his pushed himself up into a kneeling position.

The scream drew to a close and that scared him more than the scream itself. Twisting around and standing up at the same time, Natsu took in the situation with keen eyes.

Lucy; his teammate was on the ground, down the corridor some, and she wasn't moving.

That Eisenwald bastard; smirking at her before the look turned to one of anger.

Before he knew it, he was already closing the distance and summoning up his magic to ignite his right fist.

The bastards' hands rose up and Natsu's enhanced hearing could pick up what he was saying, even as Natsu leapt up into the air to vault over Lucy.

"_Just die already you fly!_"

The flames in Natsu hand was joined by a twin in his left hand. He raised the two up and brought them down in a vengeful slash, the heat scorching the walls and ceiling as he did so.

"Wing Slash of the Fire Dragon!"

The attack connected with the bastard and threw him forward and then back, flying over the downed Lucy and continuing several metres down the empty corridor.

Natsu landed with a light tap of his sandals and he pivoted quickly on one foot in order to race back to his partner. "Lucy!" He reached her and hovered uncertainly over her, his hands brushing her back, but unsure as what to do. He didn't want to hurt her.

"How bloody long does it take you to wake up from your naps?" Lucy asked incredulously.

The tenseness that lined Natsu's shoulders and back disappeared at her words. He grinned wolfishly down at her. "Still joking around? You must be okay."

A scoff escaped Lucy's lips as she tucked her arms underneath her to lift herself up. "No matter how strong the attack is, I'll never back down."

The smile on Natsu's face only widened and he easily scooped the blonde up to set her down on her feet. "That's awesome Luce!"

"Lucy is my name you know…"

"Good try maggot…"

Both Lucy and Natsu turned at the haggard voice coming from behind Lucy, Natsu snarling at Kageyama's standing form.

The Shadow mage lifted his head up higher and looked at Natsu with a haughty expression. "But not good enough."

* * *

**Well, not much happened, but I hope it'll tide you guys over until the next chapter. So yeah, Kageyama seems like a bigger dick here than in the series, I don't know why though.**

**Anyway, I'll try and write this soon, but don't raise your hopes.**

**Love y'all.**


	11. Bloody wounds

**I'm tired. That's all I really have to say either than sorry for not updating sooner.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_If I owned this story, Lucy would dry her tears and kick the shit out of a lot of people_

**Warning: **_Language and fighting!_

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

"Come on then," snarled Natsu at the stoic form of Kageyama. "Show me what you've got!"

Slowly, Kageyama reached his arm up to brush invisible dust off his shoulder, face painfully blank as he did so. "And why should I waste time with a fly like you, hm?"

Instead of answering, Natsu leapt forward to engage Kageyama in a battle of fists, pounding against the mage's defence as he did so.

Lucy carefully watched the fight as she mentally checked over her injuries, internally wincing at the stinging pain in her legs and the deep throbbing around her ribs. 'Shit, that might be cracked. I can't be of use when I don't have full mobility of my body.'

Still watching Natsu and Kageyama fight – although it was already becoming rather one-sided due to Natsu's rage and the depletion of Kageyama's magic after doing a massive attack – Lucy carefully fingered her keys with her free hand, the right hand clutching onto her sword like a lifeline. "Lyra?"

Her beloved spirit appeared in a flash and gasped at her torn appearance. "Lucy-chan!"

"Hey Lyra," the blonde grimaced back. "Do you mind patching me up quickly? I'm fighting a dark guild and it's already gotten a bit messy, so I'd like to be prepared for more battles."

Lyra pursed her lips in disapproval, but vanished to the spirit world to go fetch the medical supplies she always kept ready for new injuries.

A crunching noise distracted Lucy and she turned to see a wall concave, the tangled limbs of Kageyama peeking through the rubble. "Damn it, Natsu!"

The Dragon Slayer turned to look at Lucy in confusion. "What? I just hit him. He hurt you, so it's only fair I hurt him back."

Lucy's anger was partly soothed by Natsu's words, but she still scowled at him. "Idiot! I said to only hurt him enough so that he would be in-capitated to move, but still conscious to speak!" She went to shout some more but broke off in a wheeze as her ribs protested.

"Lucy!" Natsu looked uncertainly towards Kageyama, but declared him down for the count and hurried over to his friend that was struggling to breathe. "Are you okay?!"

A thumbs up came from the blonde as she sucked in greedy mouthfuls of air. "I'm…fine…"

Natsu went to protest but was cut off by a flash of light. "I've got the medical supplies, Lucy-chan!" Lyra held up the kit triumphantly, but when she caught sight of Natsu, her sweet face fell into an ugly look. "You!"

"Me?" Natsu held his hands up uncertainly.

Lyra placed her ever-present lyre and the medical kit down so that she could round on Natsu, murder evident in her eyes. "You're meant to protect Lucy-chan, idiot! How dare you let her get hurt while you're nearby! There's not a single scratch on you and yet Lucy-chan is bloody and broken! Why, I should beat you here just to get my point across your thick head!"

Every time Lyra angrily stepped forward, Natsu would take a step back, continuously trying to protest over the spirit's loud shrieks. When she finished her mini-rant with several stabs to his exposed chest with her petite fingers, Lucy interrupted with a tired smile. "It's okay, Lyra. He was…incapacitated at the time of my injury. It's not my fault."

A low growl escaped the cute spirit's throat and she turned away from Natsu so that she could pick up the medical kit and tuck her lyre securely under one arm. "Tch, Taurus told me that he was unconscious while you were in trouble. Useless…" Her words trailed off into a series of mutters, low enough that even Natsu's superb hearing couldn't make out the words.

'I will never insult one of Lucy's spirits for being weak again!' Thought Natsu desperately as he backed away from the deceptively harmless spirit. "I-I'm going to go and try and wake up the bastard!" Seeing Lucy nod in confirmation, Natsu spun on his heel and marched over to the rubble that contained the unconscious Kageyama, intent on dragging him out in the most painful manner to wake him up.

"You go do that you useless male." Lyra snorted to herself before lifting the quiet Lucy's shirt so that she could begin to wrap her already bruised chest. "Oh, Lucy-chan, this is awful."

The girl shrugged in reply. "I've had worse."

"I know you have," said Lyra sadly, eyes tracing the angry pink scar that stretched across Lucy's side. "I just wish you were more careful sometimes."

There was no answering comment and Lyra respected the blonde's silence, keeping quiet herself as she finished bandaging Lucy's ribs before going on to dabbing healing salve onto her cuts that were mainly along her arms and legs.

"Oi! Lucy! Flame-brain!"

Natsu turned to see a panting Gray running towards him, no shirt evident on his person. "What'cha say to me, Ice-princess?!"

Not bothering to answer, Gray looked around before he spotted Lucy being tended by Lyra. "So you're okay Lucy? I heard you scream…"

Lucy winced at his comment and the pain of the healing slave. "I beg your pardon for that, Gray. I shouldn't have screamed, it's a liability in battle. Especially with someone with sensitive hearing such as Natsu."

Blinking dumbly, Gray looked over to Natsu, seeing him just as stupefied as he was. Blinking once more, Gray looked back to Lucy to reply to her comments. "Lucy, screaming out of pain isn't a sign of weakness."

She didn't answer straight away, instead, thanking Lyra before sending back to the spirit realm, promising to summon her out later to check on her ribs. The blonde heaved a deep sigh, checking to see if her ribs hurt as bad as before – they still did. "To me, it is, and I'll be thankful if you don't continue to chase this subject, Fullbuster."

With the use of Gray's last name, Lucy implied that she was serious and that the matter was over. She breezed past the two males in order to grab Kageyama's arm and to start dragging him down the corridor, back towards where Gray had come from. "Now, if you may, I'd like to head back to Erza quickly so that we can hurry up and catch up to that Erigor bastard. I don't want him playing Lullaby any time soon."

Gray and Natsu shared a look before jogging to catch up to Lucy, Gray easily taking Kageyama into his arms. "Fine. But we'll talk about this later."

"Okay."

* * *

"Erza!"

The red-haired mage turned at the sound of her name, eyes widening slightly to see Natsu, a wounded Lucy, and Gray lugging an unconscious male over his shoulder. Natsu led the pack and lowered his arms that had been cupped around his mouth to amplify the sound of his shout.

"Is everybody okay?" Erza stood up, authority oozing out of her. Her magic levels had already gone up a fair bit from her rest and she had taken the increase of strength as her cue to interrogate a member of Erigor. The scared male had revealed some things that were quite horrific.

"Nobody was especially hurt, Titania," replied Lucy, ignoring Gray and Natsu's incredulous glances. "But we have to be quick, Erigor isn't her-"

"I know." Erza stalked over to stand in front of the three other mages. "I just found out that Erigor never planned to broadcast Lullaby over the train station loudspeaker." Her expression was grim as she stared into Natsu and Gray's confused eyes. "He's planning to play it in Clover. Specifically-"

"At the guild master's meeting, right?"

Erza nodded at Lucy's question. "He's already got a lead on us and we're currently trapped in here. There's a giant wind wall around the station that's keeping us from getting out. It's surrounding the whole place; no one can get in, and no one can get out."

"Damn it!" Cursed Natsu, slamming his hand into his fist angrily. "The bastard is going after Master?!"

"And the other gramps," finished Gray darkly. "What do we do now?"

"Bust through it obviously Ice-princess!" Natsu lit up his fist excitedly, "I'll smash through it easily!"

Lucy stepped away from his lit fist and went over to stand beside Erza. "Titania, does the wind wall cover the sky or the ground?"

"The sky, yes." Erza replied, slightly confused. "So Happy can't fly Natsu up through it, but the ground is clear."

The blonde hummed before realising something. "Hey, where _is _Happy?"

"I-I tho-though you'd n-never ask abo-out your b-blue cat." A quivering voice came from behind, and the team turned as one to see a scared, green-haired male half-in, half-out of the nearby wall. A blue lump hung dejectedly out of his chubby, trembling arms.

"Happy!" Natsu called out in worry, his long-time companion unconscious in the enemy's arms. "Let go of him!"

"N-not until you give me K-kageyama." There was suddenly a dagger in the male's hand and the situation got a whole lot more serious.

Three of the Fairy Tail mages hesitated, unsure as to what the male was going to do, but the last one had no such qualms. "Just give him the fucking man," snarled Lucy, picking up the slowly wakening Kageyama by the scruff of his now filthy, white jacket. "Give us Happy and we'll give you Kageyama."

"I-I can't trust you!" The dagger slipped, dropping closer to Happy's still form. "Give me Kageyama first."

"We have no need of him," stated Lucy coldly, holding out Kageyama expectantly. "So either give us Happy, or I'll have to take him from you."

"Lucy," hissed Erza. "Happy could get injured if you do that. You're not fast enough!"

"Maybe not me, but Virgo is." Lucy's eyes twitched to the green-haired male's right, and he turned with a gasp to see a pink-haired maid coming up out of the floor next to him. "Earth magic!"

"Punishment, mistress?" Asked Virgo as she plucked Happy out of trembling arms.

"Not for such a good job, Virgo," smiled Lucy as she relaxed. "Thank you so much."

Virgo's face remained blank as she casually knocked the Eisenwald mage out and dragged him through the rest of the wall. "Will that be all, mistress?"

"There's one more thing you can do for me," Lucy said as she dropped Kageyama and stepped forward to collect Happy from Virgo's arms. "Can you dig us a tunnel to outside of the wind wall surrounding this place?"

Virgo bowed deeply, "of course, mistress." The maid spun in a blur and disappeared in a flurry of dirt and stone. A deep hole left where she was standing.

"Wha…?" Gray summed up the situation eloquently. "What the _hell _just happened?!"

"I would like to know as well," Erza commented, her arms crossed across her breastplate. "You bargained with a nakama's life on the line without telling us, what were you thinking?"

"It's not bargaining if it's one-sided," replied Lucy as she handed Happy carefully to Natsu. "I was already assured that my spirit would come through."

"How can you be so sure?" Erza pressed.

A steely look entered Lucy's eyes as she locked gazes with Erza. "Because _they _are _my _nakama. I trust them with my life and they trust me with theirs. So if I say I trust them; _that means I bloody well trust them_." The blonde turned away with a scoff lodged in her throat. "Can we just focus on the big picture here?"

"Sure," Gray placed a soothing arm on her shoulder. "But I'd just like to know how that spirit was summoned? I didn't see her at all when we walked down the corridors."

"I summoned her as we walked. I was just lagging behind you so you didn't notice, and Virgo went right underground so that _that man _couldn't see her." Lucy picked up Kageyama by the back of his jacket again and began to drag him towards the hole her spirit had made. "Can we go _now?_"

Natsu, Erza and Gray exchanged looks before chasing after the blonde who had just leapt down the hole, the newly regained Happy cradled securely in Natsu's arms.

* * *

"The four-wheeler is still here," commented Gray as the group of four raced towards the vehicle that sat dejectedly against the curb outside of the train station. "I thought some one would take it as they escaped the town."

"They wouldn't since there's not many mages here in Onibus." Lucy slid to a stop in front of the magical vehicle and opened the door, motioning Gray to get in, which he obliged.

"I'm not getting in," protested Natsu, the hand that wasn't holding Happy coming up to cup his mouth as he turned green. He yelped in surprise when Lucy pushed him half-into the vehicle before she grabbed the roof, swung her whole body into the air, and did a duel-kick to Natsu's back in order to push him in.

The Fire mage went sprawling inside the cabin of the vehicle, clutching Happy tightly as he was flung into the seat that wasn't occupied by Gray.

Releasing the roof and ignoring both Gray and Natsu's protests, Lucy shoved in the now-conscious Kageyama and slammed the door shut before running around to the front so that she could hop up onto the driver's seat beside Erza.

"Why are you sitting here?' Erza asked as she attached the SE-plug to her wrist and picked up the driving reins.

"Because," began Lucy, "if you grow weak from magic-depletion, I can grab the reins off you and drive for a while."

"But aren't you tired yourself?" Erza pumped magic into the vehicle and took off with a roar, intent on getting to Clover as quickly as possible.

"Yes," Lucy agreed simply. "I have summoned three spirits today; two gold keys and one silver, but I am not tired enough to not be able to get us to Clover from here. So any moment around half-way to Clover, I'll be perfect to switch with you as I will have enough energy by the end of my haul to be of use, and you'll have enough time to regain your energy."

Erza opened her mouth to protest _she could power this thing __**by herself, **_but her teeth clicked together and she was silent. 'She does make a point. This way, we'll be prepared for anything.'

The drive was silent for the rest of the trip, only groans from Natsu and the impressively quick switch between Erza and Lucy interrupting it.

It was after driving along a lengthy piece of railway and a bridge that something happened. Lucy perked up in the driver's seat, fatigue disappearing in replacement of intense concentration. Catching onto her anxiousness, Erza visibly stiffened her posture and glanced around warily, searching for whatever caused the blonde's shift in emotion. "Lucy, what-"

There was a deafening howl of wind and the four-wheeler rocked before tipping over into a roll, falling off the railway it was travelling on and into the fringes of the surrounding woods. Both Erza and Lucy covered their heads with their arms and fell out of the car as it rolled, only getting clipped by the edges of the sturdy vehicle as they did so.

A sound of crunching and cracking made the two girls jump to their feet and race towards the downed vehicle. Just as Erza reached around to open the slightly crumpled and upside-down door into the cabin of the vehicle, a layer of frost slowly covered it and Erza leapt out of the way as the door was broken off in a spray of frozen metal.

"What the heck just happened?!" Gray tumbled out ungracefully from the door, dragging Kageyama out after him. Shortly after, a still green-faced Natsu flopped out pathetically, Happy tugging at his hair and whining, trying to get him up and moving.

"I see everyone is okay and Happy is now conscious." Erza surveyed the group before glancing towards Lucy who was scanning the surrounding trees. "Did you see what happened, Lucy?"

The blonde didn't reply, intent on searching around for the attacker. Suddenly, she stiffened and hissed through clenched teeth, "_Erigor._"

A cold laugh echoed as Natsu staggered upright next to Gray and Kageyama – who was held firmly by the jacket by Gray – his ears and nose twitching madly. "I can smell him. He's…" The Dragon Slayer sniffed at the air before tilting his head towards the trashed vehicle next to him. "Here!"

Two bare feet thumped solidly onto the twisted metal of the vehicle and Erigor swung his scythe back to hold it casually behind his back. "Well if it isn't the fairy flies and…" His eyes narrowed dangerously at the beat up and scared looking Kageyama. "A traitor!"

"N-no, Erigor, sir!" Kageyama shook his head as much as his clenched jacket would let him. "These flies just won't let me go! I promise you I'm not traitor! Sir, I'm-"

"Shut up!" Erigor sneered at Kageyama before twirling his scythe expertly to hold it back in front of him, its silver edge bared and gleaming. Out for blood. "Do you know what I do with traitors? I, Shingami, take their lives as my own. Just as a Death god should."

"Take a life?!" Erza stepped forward towards the dark guild member, anger and passion evident in her voice and form. "That is the worst thing you can do! How dare you so casually say a thing! Every life is precious, no matter how insignificant it is deemed to be!"

'T-they're defending me!' Kageyama watched with wide eyes as the two males of the Fairy Tail guild began to shout right alongside their female comrade, yelling things about _taking a life is bad! _'This is…this is comradeship? This is what they call…nakama?'

"Enough you insolent flies!" Erigor roared. "I can kill whoever I want! I am Shingami! I am Death itself!" The mages form flickered and wavered before disappearing. Erza instantly fell back into step beside Natsu and Gray, eyes peeled for where Erigor would strike from. Natsu and Gray seemingly slipped into their rightful places, forming a back-to-back triangle formation that protected them from all sides.

'Where is he going to come from?' Wondered Kageyama fearfully, head darting around as he tried to catch sight of his guild master. 'Where is he going to attack from?' Suddenly there was a howl of wind and a tugging on his arm.

Time seemed to slow.

Kageyama stumbled forward and felt the back of his coat get ripped from an unknown force. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of the blonde-haired girl tugging him forward before pushing him to the side, making him just miss the gleaming curve that sliced through the air where he had just stood a second ago.

The scythe bit into the ground and time sped back up. Kageyama wheeled around at the insistent pull of the arm, and then was quickly released as the blonde unsheathed a sword from its sheath on her back. His torn coat fluttered to a stop around him and the blonde took that as her cue to parry the slice that arched towards her almost lazily, courtesy of Erigor.

"Natsu! Take him now!"

There was an explosion of flames as Natsu let off a tremendous roar, but those bright, burning flames were quickly put out by a simple twirl of Erigor's wind-infused scythe. "Tch. Is that all you fairy flies have? Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You are-"

"Hah!" Erigor found himself being cut off by the sharp whistle of air from one of Erza's swords and the clang of his scythe parrying the other weapon.

"Ice make floor!" The ground turned to slippery and smooth ice, Erza already out of its range before it had spread to her and Erigor. The dark mage found his balance off and this was quickly taken advantage of Natsu, who lashed out in a strong, flaming fist that connected with Erigor's jaw.

'Unbelievable.' Kageyama watched in awe as Lucy took a run-up and leapt onto the ice, skidding across its surface so that she could use its force to do a powerful side-slash with her sword. 'This is the power of teamwork. Of having nakama.'

Unfortunately, Erigor had barely gotten started, and easily slapped the open Lucy with a flurry of winds. The girl yelped and went flying back, only to be caught by Gray.

"T-thanks Gray!" The blonde wheezed through her aching ribs, struggling out of the Ice mage's arms in order to stand ready beside him. "But what do we do? He's a fast-moving Wind mage with a weapon. What weaknesses can we use against him?"

"You're the brain, Lucy," Gray replied in annoyance. "Don't expect me to think this out!" He clasped one hand and placed it against the other fist that was flat. "Erza! I'll boost you!"

The red-head yelled her agreement and dashed forwards, columns of ice appearing to give her a boost into the air that she took full advantage of. Her sword glowed before being replaced by a large mace that she slammed down towards the waiting Erigor.

Calmly, the male twisted his left hand in intricate gestures as Titania bore down on him, her mace held high as she slammed it down. There was a grinding noise as a twister began to form around Erigor and the vortex of wind quickly rose up to catch Erza in its spin. Natsu, Gray and Lucy could only watch as their companion was spun into a red and grey blur in the howling mini-cyclone.

"I am not here to muck around with flies like you," sneered Erigor as he watched Erza be flung around by his attack. "I will use the power of Lullaby to show those stupid, ignorant geezers of guild masters why we _illegal _guilds should be respected and feared!" He cackled before cancelling his technique, laughing harder when the Re-quip mage was dropped like a stone.

"Erza!" Natsu dove for the falling girl and caught her just before she hit the ground. "Are you okay?!"

Struggling, the girl sat up in his arms and grimaced through the pain of the numerous tiny slices she now obtained across her body. "I'm fine, Natsu. Let's just hurry up and defeat him before he can use Lullaby."

"That's not a bad idea," inputted Erigor. "Maybe I will warm up the flute's amazing power on you flies, an entrée before the main course of those geezers." He lifted the three-eyed flute he held in the hand that wasn't holding his scythe, "are you souls prepared to be taken by the Shinigami?"

Before the flies could say anything, he lifted the flute to his lips and blew hard into the mouth-hole, listening contently to the piercing sound that cut through the air. A wicked grin was barely hidden behind the flute as he watched the four flies and the traitor drop to the ground in agony.

The red-haired fly was withering on the ground beside the pink-haired one, her bellows of pain audible, even over Lullaby's music. The pink-haired fly wasn't moving at all, his hands clamped over his ears as he shook with pure agony. The dark-haired fly had slumped against the broken four-wheeler, convulsing, and the blonde-haired fly was letting out continuous shrieks of agony as she kneeled on the ground. The traitor had already gone. His body was slumped in a boneless on the ground, his soul already taken by the power that was Zeref's magic.

Erigor watched with glee as the flies movements began to slow and then stop completely, their bodies hitting the ground with soft, fleshy thumps.

Lowering the magic flute, Erigor began to laugh. A screeching, throaty noise that echoed throughout the forest. He lifted Lullaby over his head and rose of the ground triumphantly. "With this! I can finally show those ignorant fools why they should never ignore the might of Eisenwald!"

His laugh continued to echo as he floated above five dead bodies and a broken vehicle.

* * *

**Holy shit! What did I just do?!**


	12. Messy

**Hello, hello, hello! I'm here and ready to rumble! **

**I beg your pardon for that abrupt cliffhanger, but I really couldn't resist. *Insert snicker and smirk here.* But, don't fear, it will all make sense!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_I only own my beloved Tia and her crazy twists in the wonderful plot that I don't own!_

**Warning: **_Language, violence and death! Mwhahaha! But seriously, some sadness here, prepare yourselves…_

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

Erigor continued to laugh, triumphantly barring Lullaby to the heavens above.

"What the hell is he doing? What's happening?" Natsu looked up in confusion at the cackling dark mage who had been laughing for the past minute as he floated in the sky overhead. He had started doing that shortly after Erza had been pushed back by the tornado, and Natsu had no clue what he was laughing at. He was so confused right now...

"He's in an illusion," supplied Lucy helpfully, a small smile evident on her face as she watched the man laugh, almost like he was stuck on a loop. "Vulp, you did well."

The red-haired spirit shimmered into view beside Lucy, foxy grin covering her sweet face. "Thanks, Lucy-chan! I made the illusion show him what he wanted to see, and then stuck him on loop." Her fox ears flickered and she grimaced slightly. "He's currently laughing over your dead bodies."

Sparing a quick shudder at the thought of her nakama's dead bodies, Erza looked at Lucy and the spirit appreciatively, "good job, you two. Is he stuck like that, or is the illusion going to stop after a while?"

"I can hold it for a while longer," said Vulp, twirling one of her red locks between her slender fingers. "But you could just knock him out, you know?"

"I volunteer!" Natsu grinned wickedly and lit up one of his fists. "I'll beat up that bastard for what he's done!"

"That's good and all," Vulp said with uncharacteristic seriousness, "but the illusion will stop when you come into contact with him. So make your attack count."

"Basically," Gray drawled, coming to stand next to Lucy, eyes trained on Natsu. "Don't be a screw-up like you normally are, flame-for-brains."

Natsu scoffed at him before his body was licked by bright flames. "Whatever, Popsicle. Here I go!" He pushed off the ground, body now blazing with his own magical power. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"

The attack hit with a crunch into Erigor's exposed stomach, making the mage's eyes pop out and his mouth loll as he folded in half. The flames burnt him as momentum caught up to him and he was flung back. The force of the attack had the man sailing upwards in an arc, scarf trailing behind him before he went crashing deep into the forest behind.

"I-incredible!' Kageyama's eyes were trained on Natsu as he landed with a light tap of his feet, teeth bared in a grin. 'Did they really beat Erigor?' His eyes landed on the discarded form of Lullaby that had been flung out of Erigor's hands when he was driven away. It's empty three eyes stared at him, beckoning. The pull was almost too strong to resist, the powerful dark magic of the flute calling him a few steps forwards. 'Should I…?'

"I totally destroyed him!" beamed Natsu, turning to his nakama with a smug look plastered onto his face. "Did you see that? _I _beat him! Not Ice-princess, or Erza-"

"Shut up, Natsu." interrupted Lucy with a sigh, biding Vulp a goodbye and a thank you before the spirit disappeared in a shimmer of gold. "There's a chance that he might not be defeated, so I'll go check on him while you guys-"

There was a screech of metal and the Fairy Tail mages turned collectively to see the bent and battered magic four-wheeler being pulled upright by giant shadow hands, its exhausted engine whirring and clunking.

"Fuck," Lucy summed up perfectly, watching Kageyama crow triumphantly as he launched over their heads, Lullaby flute gripped in one hand and the other controlling the shadow hands that were propelling the vehicle. "I guess I'll clean up Erigor while you guys take care of that."

"After him!" Erza bellowed, armour clanking as she broke into a sprint and Natsu and Gray moving from their dumbfounded positions to chase after her. Happy sprouted his wings and fluttered after them, not picking up Natsu as he went, content to just glide after them tiredly.

"Huh," Lucy muttered, staring after the departing mages. "I guess Fairy Tail mages are pretty single-minded when it comes to enemies." She shrugged to herself before her mood turned sombre. She knew what she had to do now.

Hefting her sword in her right hand and glancing around to find the destruction-filled path in the forest that would guide her to Erigor, Lucy discovered the beginnings of it and set off at a comfortable pace. Her ribs were achingly slightly, but not as bad as the wrenching feeling on her left side.

"How cliché," she remarked as she passed under a still-smouldering branch in the forest. "My heart is hurting." She took a deep breath – mindful of the sparks of pain from her ribs – and quashed the feeling, numbing it until it was barely a tickle in the back of her mind. "For the good of the future." she repeated it to herself, trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing. "It's to make everybody's future easier. For Lucy…"

There was a snapping of wood and she calmly pulled her sword into a ready position. "Come out, Erigor. I know you're there."

"How…" The rasping voice echoed from Lucy's right and she adjusted accordingly to keep him in her swords' reach. "How **dare **you…trick the Shingami!" The was more snapping of branches and twigs before Erigor pushed his way through the foliage and into Lucy's path

His tattered pants and scarf attire was missing large parts, and his gravity-defying hair looked rather deflated. His tall, lanky body was hunched over in pain and covered in bruises, burns and cuts. Several leaves and twigs were caught in his hair and scarf; all in all, ruining the fear factor of the sneer that he had on his face.

"You don't look much like a Shingami," said Lucy blankly, eyes trained on every movement of Erigor's as he leaned heavily on a tree trunk. "I would like to honour you more – you were a worthy adversity – but I must get to my friends. Quickly would be rather nice."

Erigor's sneer twisted as he opened his mouth. "Those flies? I'll eradicate their presence off this world! I'll destroy every happy thought they've ever had and laugh as they writher in pain at my feet!" He pushed off the tree, wind gathering around his arms and legs as he advanced on Lucy. "I may be slightly damaged by that pink-haired fly, but I still have enough magical power to activate my Storm Mail and shred you to pieces!" The swirling and grinding wind slowly crept up his arms and legs, enclosing his torso in their dangerous safety and making their way up to his upper body and neck. "Prepare to die, fl-!"

His words broke off in a sharp gurgle and the winds that were so lovingly twisting around him a second ago, departed, abandoning their master in search for other playful opportunities. Good or evil, it didn't matter. The wind was untameable, and often bit their controllers hands.

Lucy grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt warm liquid envelop her hands. Her hands trembled lightly, sword rattling against bone as she did so.

She…shouldn't-_couldn't_ do it.

No, she couldn't just sever his head so…callously. Although Erigor was a mad man, he was also cheated and taken advantage of in the future; his memory wiped and made into a puppet for Oración Seis. He wasn't in fault if he didn't know what he was doing.

Swallowing the bile that was creeping up of her throat, Lucy attempted to disengage her sword from Erigor's neck. The sword slid effortlessly sideways; like a hot knife through butter, as her mother used to say. And with a jerk of his head, Erigor tumbled to the ground, like the discarded puppet he was.

"I'm sorry," choked out Lucy, eyes flickering between the open mouth with its pink cavern, and the new smile painted on his throat with what looked like melted, red lipstick. "I'm so sorry! Please, Shingami-sama, spare this soul! I-" she broke off, right arm holding her steadily dripping sword like it would bite her if it got too close. "I had too…"

Biting down on her lips and emotions, Lucy flicked away the offending liquid that slithered in streams down her sword before kneeling down respectively beside her once-enemy. She crossed herself before closing his staring eyes; eyes that accused. "Rest in peace, Erigor-san."

She wanted to summon Virgo. Make the mess disappear into a deep hole like Alice into Wonderland. But like children who have knocked their toys over, she would have to stack it back up and fix it herself.

She was a big girl.

"Big girls don't cry," Lucy muttered bitterly to herself, tucking Erigor's scarf around the dripping smile on his throat, covering it from view. "They don't cry." She picked Erigor up, noting of his lightness, and set off deeper into the forest to dig a resting place for the man.

_Then why was she crying?_

* * *

"T-that's Lullaby?" Gray stuttered slightly, gazing up in horror at the large monster that was now looming over them. "How?!"

The monster known as Lullaby roared in delight after being freed after so long, its mouth gaped as he did so. The deep glow in its three eyes brightened at the prospect of destruction that it could cause. **"It has been so long since I have been able to stand in this form!"** The demon lowered its body so that it could stare down at the tiny people by his feet. **"My, my, is this my welcoming party? A bunch of old geezers and three titchy mages?"**

There was a bellow of protest from Natsu '_I ain't titchy!,' _but Lullaby easily ignored that, its gaze wandering over to the several mountains that proudly stood nearby. **"Oh? There's something that I can destroy."** It straightened up and _swelled _before releasing a blast of pure magic that tore and obliterated the proud mountains in one flashy flare.

The Royal Army, that had gathered to help, stuttered and fell to a stop at the sign of pure power. Fear began to pump through their systems as they realised what they were up against.

Wisely, one of the men declared a tactical retreat that his men only gladly acted on, fleeing back – to where they weren't sure, but it was better than being anywhere near that giant monster looming behind them.

Soon, only the Fairy Tail mages of Erza, Natsu and Gray stood in front of the terrifying spectacle, guild masters of their own guild, Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus behind them, in the fringes of trees.

"Natsu, Gray," came the commanding tone from Erza as her body glowed and changed into sleek, black armour. "Let's go!"

"Aye!" Came the collective reply of the two males, hands alighting in their respective magic before charging alongside their nakama.

Watching with tired eyes, Makarov reclined on a tree trunk, tiny form dwarfed even by Bob's stout form. "Those three…"

"Maki-dear," cooed Bob, wings shimmering in the faint moonlight creeping through the clouds and branches of the tree they were under. "Didn't Mira-chan say there was another member of your fine group of beauties? Where is she?"

"Lucy?" Brow furrowed, Makarov watched as Lullaby staggered around, arms flailing to hit the evasive mages attacking it. "I-" A golden flash caught his attention in the distance, drawing his attention from the shade of colour that he hadn't seen any of his mages use before. "I believe she's already here.

* * *

Stomach rolling, Lucy unclasped her hands from around Andromeda's arms and staggered away, mind trying to catch up with the sudden change of environment. "T-thanks, Andromeda."

"Of course, Lucy," the spirit replied, worried blue eyes on her summoner, her hands a bloody mess that didn't belong to her and her expression troubled. "I'm happy to transport you anywhere you have to go. It's one of the few abilities I have to offer you."

Lucy gave a shaky smile and straightened up, feet stumbling as the ground rocked beneath them. "I'm just glad you transported us away from the battle."

Taking in the battle that was going on between Lucy's guildmates and the abomination that belonged to Zeref, Andromeda could only nod. "Are you joining in, Lucy?"

The blonde followed Andromeda's gaze before flickering to the destruction that was happening around them. "No. Andromeda, I'll have to ask you a favour."

"What may I do for you?" Andromeda asked politely, following her summoner as the blonde began to jog towards the guild hall that stood nearby.

Lucy scrambled over a shattered imprint of a monstrous foot that was in the ground before answering. "I want you to transport yourself to the surrounding area and make sure that the guild masters and Royal Army get away from the destruction safely." The two females were drawing nearer to the guild hall, but so was Lullaby. "Many mages don't realise the devastating effects their battles have on people around them. I just don't want anyone injured. Not while I-" Lucy broke off to glance back at her spirit. "Not while _we _can do anything to help."

Andromeda's smile was small, but full of pride for her summoner's actions and feelings. "Of course, Lucy." She stopped in her running to raised chained arms, power flaring before she disappeared in a golden flash.

"Be safe," Lucy whispered to the wind, feet picking their way to the guild hall where several shouts of panic were coming from.

Breaking through the last bit of foliage from the forest Andromeda had transported her to – _why was she in so many Jashin-damned forests today?! _– Lucy emerged beside the guild hall and the steady stream of guild masters that were evacuating, guided by several fresh-faced Royal Guards.

"Miss!" One of the guards approached her, armour clanking and slipping off his youthful frame. "I'll have to ask you to evacuate. There's-"

"Lullaby's heading this way," Lucy finished for him, brushing past to stand beside a guard who had armour and uniform that was different to the others. "Sir!"

The reigning Commander of this certain platoon looked up to see – not one of his men as he expected – a young, blonde woman saluting him with bloody hands, a fluttering top with a vest and pants completing her look. The Commander straightened up from his post of observing his men and stared at the blonde with something akin to suspicion. "Who are you and what are you doing here?! This is being evacuated! You must leave immediately!"

"Sir!" Lucy bowed deeply to him out of respect. "Lucy of Fairy Tail, sir. I'm here to assist you in whatever means you need a mage for."

The Commander blanked at a _Fairy Tail mage _being so polite and respectful, but quickly caught himself. This was a serious situation, not something that you can lose your head in. "What services can you offer me, Lucy-san?"

The blonde straightened and stared at him with hard, brown eyes. "I am a Celestial mage that can offer the use of several of my spirits. In fact, sir, I already have one of my spirits roving the surrounding affected area, transporting away any people in danger to a safe point."

The Commander nodded in acknowledgement. "A good plan, Lucy-san. But where is your spirit taking the people to?"

Just in time, Andromeda appeared in a flash, startling the Commander and nearby passer-by's. "Lucy, I have found ten people already and relocated them to a nearby valley two kilometres that way." The spirit gestured to the west where, coincidentally, the Royal Guards were ushering the guild masters and any staff that had been in the guild hall. "I have transported them to the base of operations of the Royal Guard in the valley there, and have scanned the forest thoroughly. There is no one else in danger."

"That's a relief, Andromeda," said Lucy. "Thank you so much for your support. You can go home and rest now."

Andromeda inclined her head before disappearing again, this time though, back to her home.

Scratching his head, the Commander observed the Fairy Tail mage in front of him in new light. "I am thankful for your services, Lucy-san. I will keep in mind what you have done here today."

Lucy bowed in gratitude before examining the last stragglers of people that were leaving the guild hall in search of shelter from the battle that was drawing to a close fearfully nearby. "Sir, in all respect, I think you should flee now."

"And why would that be?" The Commander peered at the blonde. "Why should I take orders from you?"

"Because I'm saving your life, and your men's," Lucy said simply as she grabbed a megaphone that was at the Commander's feet and lifted it to her lips, dodging the Commander's attempts to get it back.

"SIRS AND MADAMS!"

The last remaining people turned at the magnified yell, curious and fearful gazes resting on Lucy's form.

"I'M GOING TO HAVE TO ASK YOU TO HURRY NOW! THE FAIRY TAIL MAGES ARE DRAWING CLOSE AND THEY MAY MAKE LULLABY FALL HERE! I DON'T WISH ANYONE TO BE HURT, SO PLEASE HURRY AND GET TO SAFETY!"

Finally reacting, the Commander wrestled the megaphone from Lucy's hands – not that she gave much of a fight since she had already said what she needed to – before addressing the people himself. "U-UM…" The man faltered as he realised that the girl had been doing the right thing. "DO AS SHE SAYS AND HURRY!" The man nodded to himself as he dropped the arm holding the megaphone to his side before wheeling on Lucy. "What do you think you we-!"

"You should leave too, sir," Lucy interrupted, brown eyes focused on the wailing form of Lullaby that was dangerously close. "Run. NOW!" She pushed the man and hurried along after him, helping anybody who was too slow as they went.

By the time they got to a safe distance, Lucy's attention was on Lullaby rather than the murmuring mass of people around her that hadn't made it to the valley where everyone else was. She watched as Lullaby went to sing, but Natsu's flaming fists slammed down on it, lighting up everything in a bright inferno that blinded everyone.

"W-what power!" one of the guards muttered, eyes on the form of Lullaby as it cracked and crumbling, tumbling downwards. "Is this the strength of Fairy Tail?"

"The strength of their destruction," Lucy replied dryly, wincing when Lullaby landed on the guild hall and obliterated it in a spray of rubble and shattered glass. "I am sure someone can pay for that."

Several guild masters shrieked in rage and even the guards began to curse the Fairy Tail mages that had just destroyed private and sacred property.

But Lucy ignored them (again) in favour of heading back towards the destroyed hall. The Commander called out to the girl as she broke into a sprint, but she was too far gone and it seemed like she wouldn't be stopping.

"Honestly," the Commander said to himself as he surveyed the angry faces of the guild masters. "All those Fairies do when the blame is pinned on them is run."

* * *

Coming to a stop, Lucy scanned the wreckage, passing over twisted metals and shattered wood in favour of searching for a certain flute.

Deciding that she wouldn't get a good view from here, Lucy used her hands and feet to crawl up onto the slightly warm mess of materials, hands slicing on hidden pieces of glass and pointed metals as she did so. A sense, rather than sight, drew her to a certain piece of wreckage, and Lucy kicked it to the side to reveal the cracked flute of Lullaby.

Lucy gingerly lifted it up and stared into its three eyes before slamming it viciously into a brick, shattering the cracked face. A wisp of something dark escaped from it and Lucy found her anger picking up; anger at the pain and destruction that had been brought around by this flute. She slid her hands down to the end of the flute where it turned into gnarled roots and swung it in a downwards stroke, anger fuelling the strike to snap and break the flute beyond any repair.

"Good riddance." She spat onto the broken remains before turning on her heel, intent on getting back to her friends when a loan moan spiked her senses.

"Hello?" Looking around frantically, Lucy came to a cold realisation. "Sir? Where are you?!" Panicking, the girl began to slide and scramble across the wreckage, not caring if she was cut to shreds on the mass of materials, not if someone was injured underneath it. "Sir?! PLEASE! Where are you?!"

There was a hacking cough and Lucy pivoted to rush towards a smouldering, thick piece of wood that had probably been a beam from the ceiling of the guild. Now, though, it was a destroyer of life. Just like Lullaby.

"Sir!" Dropping to her knees, Lucy began to dig away at the smaller pieces of rubble that surrounded the beam, trying to dig a hold big enough to get her hands under. "Are you in there?"

"Y-yes."

The voice was a whisper, but it gave Lucy strength and hope to dig faster, the blood of Erigor on her hands scraped away by sharp rocks, only to be replaced by blood from her broken and jagged nails. "I'm going to get you out! Don't worry, I'll get you out there as soon as I can!" Although Lucy was trying to reassure the young-sounding male, her own voice was being smothered and choked by unshed tears that were clogging up her throat and nose.

There was no reply this time and Lucy frantically threw away some more glass and rock before shoving her hands under the beam that was hot enough to lightly burn her hands. "Stay with me, sir! C'mon! DON'T FALL ASLEEP!"

Sobbing now, Lucy heaved at the heavy beam, screaming when her ribs protested. But at the whispering shuffle of clothes from under the beam, Lucy ignored the pain, pushing the beam up to her hips with a scream of pain and triumph. Panting, she heaved again, channelling magic she knew that she needed for herself to her numb limbs and legs.

There came a glimmer of dirtied blue cloth from underneath the beam that spurred on Lucy, who began to slowly push her legs up to lift the beam. With a last guttural scream, she lifted up the beam with burnt and bloodied hands and threw it to the side, the wood landing with a heavy thunk and creak.

The girl gasped a shuddering breath through her ribs that was surely broken and splintered by now, before dropping back down to her haunches beside the broken form of a young Royal Guard. "Sir?"

The boy coughed weakly, blood spluttering from his lips, dirtying the once handsome features more. "I-is someone there?"

"Yes," managed Lucy, gripping tightly at rocks so that she wouldn't scream again; this time out of horror. She gulped and ignored the boy's legs that were hopelessly tangled together at odd sections and the concave of his right arm. "Why didn't you evacuate with the other guards?"

The boy's eyelids fluttered over glazed green orbs. "Wanted…to make sure no one was…going to get hurt."

"But you got hurt in the process, you silly boy!" Lucy cried, wheezing at the pain in her ribs. "Why would you do something like that?!" She gasped another breath that tasted faintly metallic before continuing. "**WHY?!**"

"Because," the boy whispered, his gaze finally falling on Lucy's battered form that was hovering above him on the edge of the small dent his body had formed when it was crushed. "It was my duty. And I would…gladly lay my life down for things that I care for…" A tear leaked from one of his hazy eyes, clearing a path through his grimy face. "I care for this country and the people that live in it." He managed to smile at Lucy, taking in her blonde hair that glimmered in the moon _like an angel._ "Isn't that worth dying for?"

Lucy sobbed, tears plinking down onto the young army boy's torn uniform, but not cleaning the fabric one bit. "I'm sorry! I'm, so, _so _sorry!"

_I'm sorry that I didn't save you! I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough! I'm sorry that I've let a life be taken so unfairly! _

"Please forgive me," she said, leaning over the boy, his eyes unfocused and not blinking. "Oh, God, forgive me!"

She let out a wail of panic, fear, hatred, anguish - _oh god why was she such a failure?! - b_efore breaking off into sobbing and tears. No one bothered her; no one wanted to go near the dangerous, destroyed mess that was once a proud guild hall for many years.

No one was there when she picked up the broken boy and her own broken heart before steadily, staggeringly, making her way out of the mess that had been made.

* * *

The Commander heard cracking of twigs and turned from the small mass of people he had to see the blonde – Lucy – from earlier come staggering out of the forest in a zombie-like state, a bundle carried in her arms. Her face was pale and drawn, covered in filth with a thin trickle of blood escaping her lips.

"Lucy-san!" the Commander called out as he hurried towards her. "Your friends are looking for you!"

The girl didn't acknowledge him, sluggishly moving past to stumble a few more steps before sinking down on her knees in front of a large group of young Royal Guards. With bloody hands, she carefully deposited the bundle at their feet, revealing the very much dead form of one of the guards, green eyes staring blankly up to the stars above.

A chocked sound escaped many of the guard's mouths and a few started crying. "Max…" one of them moaned, clenching his hair between shaking fingers. "Max!"

Lucy then reached out and used both of her hands to close Max's green eyes, leaving drops of blood on them that gleamed mockingly. She wiped them away with torn sleeves that were as red as the blood before placing a chaste kiss on his forehead and standing up.

The guards took that as their cue to go to their fallen comrade, dropping to their knees around the dead body as Lucy rose.

The blonde walked away from the cries that echoed through the suddenly silent night behind her, face showing no emotion, but the tear tracks that still shimmered on her cheeks gave her away. She walked past shocked guild masters and guards, towards her nakama and master who were staring at her like they had never seen her before.

Upon reaching them, she bowed to a solemn Makarov, not flinching at the audible grinding sound to all that came from her ribs. "I'm sorry that I didn't come sooner, Master." Her voice was hoarse from screams and her guildmates flinched at the sound.

Makarov studied her wane face before sighing and placing a tiny hand on one of her exposed legs. "That is quite alright, my child. You had your reasons."

The girl nodded jerkily. "Yes, I did. I failed to reach him early enough for medical attention." Her brown eyes glimmered like broken glass. "I…"

"Lucy…" Happy looked up at the blonde, eyes swimming with tears of his own.

The girl looked down and smiled robotically at Happy, the image ruined by haunted eyes and the tears that were steadily falling from them. "Hey, Happy."

Almost uncomfortably, Gray placed a comforting had on her shoulder. "Hey…are you alright?" He winced at the awful question - _of course she wasn't alright! - _but the blonde answered anyway. "I'm…" She blinked at him, confusion now etched into her features. "I do not know…"

Licking his lips, Gray replied. "If you need to talk, just…just talk to one of us, okay? We're here as your nakama. We'll support you in any way we can."

Erza and Natsu nodded, both watching their friend closely to see whether or not she found shatter into hundreds of pieces like it seemed she would.

Lucy twisted her features into a smile and nodded, one hand wrapping around her aching ribs as she felt them rub and grind against each other.

_Broken, just like every other part of her…_

"Miss?"

A tap on Lucy's shoulder made her turn to face a much older Royal Guard, his face tight with anguish for a fallen comrade. "Yes, sir?"

"Galvin," the man supplied for her. "I was hoping that you would be able to answer some questions on…" He gulped before finishing determinedly, "on Max's passing. How it happened and whatnot."

"It would be…" Lucy paused as she realised that she was going to say pleasure and _that was not a word she would be ever using again in the near future. _"It would honour him to know that his…passing would be of knowledge to his peers, and that his last words would be remembered."

"So you were there when he passed?" Galvin asked, a booklet coming out alongside a pen in which to write the details. "Do you mind stepping this way to answer some more questions?"

Agreeing to do so, Lucy faced her guildmates to bow to Makarov once more. "Master, I shall be busy here for a while. I wish to help pay for the…funeral and get that in order." Her eyes flickered as she spoke. "Please, continue on and head back to the guild. I will return in the next few days."

Natsu went to protest, but Erza quickly silenced him when Makarov began to speak. "Are you sure you wish to stay here, my child? You need to be healed and-"

"With all due respect, sir," came Lucy's now hard reply. "I _need _to do this."

_I need to fix up this mess._

Makarov studied her once more before bowing in submission, "if this is what you wish."

"I do."

Turning his back on the broken girl, Makarov began to walk away. "Brats, come back to the guild." The tiny man caught sight of the boy who had possessed the flute getting apprehended by several guards and shook his head with a sigh. "You've done enough here as it is."

Erza instantly followed after him, shooting Lucy one last look before turning around completely. Gray offered Lucy a smile before, he too, left after the elder two.

It was Natsu and Happy who remained, determinedly standing in front of Lucy and Galvin. "You have to come back with us, Lucy."

"No I don't," Lucy replied tiredly. _Why couldn't she just sleep and pretend that this was all a dream?! _"I _want _to do this, Natsu, and I _need _to!"

"Why?!" argued back Natsu, stepping towards Lucy, arms out to emphasis his feelings. "You don't owe these guys anything!"

Lucy, who was already very close to the edge of sanity, snapped, whirling on the Fire mage with eyes full of fury. "_Of course I bloody well have to!_"

Happy, Natsu and Galvin stumbled back at the sudden outburst, shocked by the fury that the previously sad girl was excreting.

"No you-" Natsu tried to say, but was cut off by the blonde who was on a warpath.

"_I fucking have to, Natsu! Because, I KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED HIM! FUCKING FAIRY TAIL KILLED HIM!"_ Her shrieks of rage caught many people's attention, and they watched with serious expressions as Lucy jabbed her fingers at Natsu, who, in turn, began to look hurt and confused. "What do you mean, Lucy? What the hell are you talking about?! We don't kill people!

The blonde snarled at him, mind fogged by her anger. "So I guess that Lullaby fucking jumped onto the guild hall, just happening to _kill _Max!"

There was a gasp from some of the guards at the casual mention of their friend's death.

Natsu flinched away at her words, Happy tearfully looking between the two at his feet. "Lucy, we didn't mean to. I didn't think…"

"Just like you don't mean to destroy everyday people's houses every time you take a job!" Lucy retorted. "Just like you don't mean to obliterate people's hard work, sacred grounds, or even hospitals! That's the thing, Natsu, you guys don't fucking _think_! You don't think about the consequences, or the impact that your fights have on people who don't have magic!" Lucy gestured to the masses of Royal Guards that were mourning for one of their fallen. "You guys don't see the big picture! The big, bad, and scary things of the real world! Well, now you do and you get to live with the fact that you _killed _someone forever! Just like I have to!" The blonde was crying again, and blood was dripping from between her lips as her broken ribs pierced her lungs further, filling them with her life liquid. She went to continue, but had to break off into body-wracking coughs that splattered blood onto the ground.

"Lucy!" Natsu went to go to her, but she shoved him away with bloody hands. "No, Natsu, that's enough. Go back to Fairy Tail," she turned away from him, head held high. "I will see you there when I get there."

Natsu hesitated again, but Happy tugged on his scarf as he drifted up beside him. "C'mon, Natsu." The cat picked up Natsu by the back of his vest and flew off after their nakama that had already walked deep into the forest, Natsu's onyx gaze not wavering from the back of Lucy's blonde head with its red tips.

"Miss?" Galvin asked the girl carefully. "Are you alright? Do you need medical attention?"

Lucy swallowed her tears and the traces of blood in her mouth before nodding. "Yes, Galvin-san, I believe I need medical attention before I answer any of your questions. I don't want to be a liability by passing out at any point."

A soft smile appeared on Galvin's lips as he gripped Lucy's shaking left arm in order to guide her towards the area that had been designated as the medical tent for anyone who had got injured. "You're a caring girl, Lucy-san, right?"

"Un, Lucy…"

_Isn't that worth dying for?_

* * *

Natsu sat morosely at one of the guild's many tables, eyes not wavering from the blonde that was slumped on a table on the other side of the guild at a table of her own. Her hair was out and she was wearing a long, white t-shirt under a sleeveless, black jumper that had a red dragon curled across it.

Maybe she wore them to cover the bandages that he knew were currently swaddling her torso, but Natsu didn't know. He only knew that since Lucy's arrival three days ago, she wasn't talking or taking any missions every time she came to the guild. She'd just sit at the same table every day, with the same blank expression on her face, wearing the same clothes as always. Natsu wouldn't even think that she went home at all if he didn't follow her every night back to her apartment, making sure that she got home safely.

Just then, Lucy's head picked up and Natsu watched as Mirajane abandoned her waitress post in order to slide into the booth beside her, arm curled around Lucy's side in a hug.

Instead of pushing Mirajane away, Lucy began to speak to her in tones so quiet that even Natsu's hypersensitive ears couldn't pick up on what they were saying.

Shortly, Lucy began to relax into the hug, curling up on the seat in order to cuddle up next to Mirajane like the frail, little girl she had been looking like so recently. Mirajane easily adjusted, the other arm joining the one hugging Lucy in order to bring her closer.

And during all that, they didn't stop talking, murmuring words only known to them two.

* * *

"Lisanna?" Lucy looked at Mirajane's pained face carefully. "She sounds like she would be as beautiful as her name."

"Yes," Mirajane smiled slightly, blue eyes crinkling, "she was very beautiful. And so kind as well. She rarely ever had something bad to say about anyone, and she was always prepared to help out anyone in need."

"Imōto-chan was a real man."

Both Mirajane and Lucy looked up to see a melancholic looking Elfman slid into the seat opposite them, eyes misty in memory.

Lucy observed the sad lilt to his lips and the way Mirajane's eyes shimmered. "Guys, you don't need to speak of her anymore. She's…she's gone, isn't she?" At Mirajane's and Elfman's flinch, Lucy continued. "I don't want to bring up any bad memories and make you guys sad."

"It's alright, Lucy-chan," Mirajane murmured, pale fingers dragging through Lucy's loose hair. "It doesn't hurt as much as it used to, and I just want you to know... that we understand."

"Un," Elfman grunted, leaning forward intently to peer at Lucy. "We heard of the death of a Royal Guard at Clover. You were the one who brought him back, weren't you?"

Shifting slightly, Lucy nodded stiffly. "Yes, I was the one who found Max and was with him when he died. I brought him back to _his _nakama. I thought that it would be easier for them to accept his death if they had a body to bury." She fiddled with her fingers, relaxing into the gentle touch of Mirajane's fingers. "You know, he had a mother and sister. I saw them at the funeral, that's why I didn't come back for a week."

Mirajane and Elfman stayed quiet as the blonde told of the funeral before going back to retell of how she had found Max and how he had died in front of her. "He died so that no one else would be in danger." Lucy swallowed thickly. "His last words were saying that protecting his country was something worth dying for. And I-" The girl broke into sobs, hands balling into her eyes. "I am so sorry!"

"Shhh," Mirajane soothed the girl, hands brushing across her head. "It's okay. Just let it out, Lucy-chan. It's not okay to hold it back."

And so she did.

Lucy cried until her voice was hoarse again and she had no more tears to cry. She cried over the frustrations that had been building up of pretending that she was someone she wasn't. Over the act of killing someone. Over the fact that she had never watched an innocent die like that, right in front of her. Even while she was in gangs, she never had to kill someone so roughly, or see someone die in front of her.

She wasn't a seventeen-year old who could remain steadfast on her quest to gain friends in Fairy Tail, only worried about boys and cute clothes. She was a sixteen-year old who was confused, lost and tired of playing pretend.

Standing up and walking over to the two girls who were both crying now, Elfman gathered Mirajane and Lucy in his huge arms, gently cradling them in his arms as they mourned over people that were long since lost.

No one in the guild spoke as the large man picked them up and disappeared out of the guild, only announcing that someone would have to take waitress duty as Mirajane would be at home with him and Lucy.

And no one argued back. It was clear that they needed time to clear their minds and to help put Lucy back together.

They all watched the three nakama disappear out the door into the heavy glare of the sun, gaze solemn and heavy at the words that Natsu had relayed to them courtesy of Lucy.

_You don't think about the consequences, or the impact that your fights have on people who don't have magic!_

Maybe, decided Natsu, maybe he would start to think. He didn't want to see his nakama's tears and not do anything about it. When one cried, they all cried.

And right now, everyone was pouring with tears.

_Isn't that worth dying for?_

* * *

…**Honestly, I have no idea what just happened.**

**I knew that I wanted to show that there were consequences to the Fairy Tail mages, but I didn't think that it would turn into…**_**this. **_**This huge mess of bad feelings that slowly steamrolled into arguments and crying and…**

**Okay, I'm just going to leave it to you guys to make something of this.**

**R.I.P. Erigor and Max.**


	13. Cooking, Cuddles and Curses Oh My!

**Hiya everyone! So, did people enjoy that last chapter, 'cause I know I did!**

**Just an extra note, the start of this chapter is on the same night as the ending of the last chapter. I'll probably put this up for a week before moving the start to the previous chapter, just so that it makes more sense and works better with the time skip. :p**

**So, yeah, enjoy!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_If I owned Fairy Tail, Levy definitely would've made out good and proper with Gajeel rather than just mouth-to-mouth!_

**Warning: **_Language and cute friendship fluff! Naw…how cute!_

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

Natsu could smell salt when he leapt up to the open window. His feet tapped down precariously on the windowsill with barely a sound, but still his main focus was the overpowering smell of salt that was linked back to sadness.

Lucy was still crying.

It wasn't the full on sobs that had wracked her body when she had been taken out of the guild earlier on by Elfman, disappearing for the rest of the day at the Strauss sibling's house. No. It was a mere shimmer on her cheeks in the dark, lit by the moonlight from the window that Natsu was mostly blocking now.

He looked down at the still form of the blonde that was currently tucked in bed on her back, with her fur blanket pulled up to her chin and her eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling.

It looked like someone – Mirajane most likely judging by the faint scent of perfume still lingering in the room – had tucked the blonde in to sleep, but Lucy had completely ignored those orders and had decided that she would spend her night staring up at the same white ceiling that she saw every morning that she woke up.

"Luce?" Came the hesitant whisper from Natsu as he crouched on the windowsill, the tips of his sandals being the only support for his current pose, along with the hands that gripped either side of the window.

The whites of Lucy's eyes expanded as she rolled her eyes towards her intruder, eyes blankly staring at him. She didn't speak a word, simply stared at him like she had been expecting him to come, and was now expecting him to do something.

So Natsu spoke.

"Look, Luce, I'm really sorry for being so insensitive earlier on and…" Natsu took a heaving breath, unsure as to how he could apologise for being an idiot for not knowing what destruction he caused people when he destroyed their homes. "There's really nothing I can say that would make this better, is there?" He rubbed his eyes tiredly with one hand, still wondering why he was over at his nakama's house at one in the morning when he could've just waited a few more hours to see her at the guild. But people _did _call him impatient.

"It's okay, Natsu." Lucy's voice sounded husky and tired, like she had either not used it for a while or she had been crying so much that she had worn her voice out. "Really, it's okay. You're still young, so you have yet to learn these things." The blonde finally moved, rolling onto her side to look more closely at her friend. "I was just being insensitive."

Natsu wrinkled his nose in answer and gave off a mocking scowl. "Hey! I'm not that young! Besides," he pointed at the blonde accusingly, "you're younger than I am! So how can you talk like you're older than me?"

A dry, humourless chuckle escaped Lucy's lips, something that Natsu hadn't expected. He had wanted Lucy to laugh, like a normal laugh, to make everything seem like it was alright with her, just for a moment. But Lucy's eyes were faintly amused as she peered at Natsu, a slightly sick amusement, but amusement all the same. "Haven't you ever heard the expression; wizened soul look through tired eyes?" Her voice was stronger as she spoke, apparently life was being breathed into her as she spoke. "Where's Happy?"

"Coming," Natsu said shortly. "He was tired when I accidentally woke him up, so he was having a snack before he came over."

"You make it sound like you're coming to stay over," Lucy said, real amusement colouring her voice. "Who the hell said you could?"

"But, Lucy," whined Natsu piteously. "C'mon! Help a guy out here!"

Lucy let out a suffering sigh before she pulled the side of her blankets that was closest to the window down. "I guess you better get comfortable while you're here and I'm too tired to argue anyways. I'm not in the mood for talking and I'm quite sleepy, you can just sleep over."

"Yes!" Natsu pumped his fist and made a move to jump into Lucy's super soft bed, but her hand that was up in a 'stop' gesture made him pause. "What now?"

"Shoes off," Lucy said briskly, "I'm not having dirt trod into my clean sheets."

Natsu let out a sound of discontentment before obligingly leaping over Lucy and her bed to alight on her bedroom floor. He tugged off his sandals and kicked them to the side, assured that he would eventually find them in the morning, before jumping back over Lucy to flop down on his side of the bed.

The bed trembled and Lucy growled as the wooden bedpost creaked ominously. "Don't you dare try and break my bed, idiot."

Natsu screwed up his face as he slid in under the blanket next to Lucy. "Why would I want to do that? I _like _sleeping in this bed, so why would I destroy it if I want to sleep in it?"

"Touché," Lucy mumbled through a jaw-creaking yawn as she burrowed deeper into the blanket, body tilted towards Natsu. "Touché, Dragneel." The second comment was fainter as Lucy began to drift off, eyes dropping and stressed facial features finally smoothing out after the past week of hell.

"Night, Lucy," Natsu said through one of his own yawns as he put his arms behind his head, mindful of not bumping his elbow into the blonde's head. "Don't let the bed bugs bite."

A snort came from Lucy and she peered up at him dozily as she curled up tighter. "Really, Natsu? Are you going to say something as childish and cliché as that?"

"Hey," defended Natsu, "me and Happy say it every night before we go to sleep!"

"Happy and I," corrected Lucy absently as her eyes went to her open window. "And how much longer until Happy gets here?"

Natsu sniffed the air before pausing as his brain catalogued the scents that his sensitive nose picked up. "Uh, he'll be here in about a minute or two. He's flying towards here, I think, judging by how fast his scent is approaching."

There was no reply from Lucy as she was content to just lie there until Happy came. Natsu respected her silence and quietly lay there, eyes tracing the ceiling, just like Lucy had done minutes ago.

"Natsu! Lushy!"

Lucy's eyes which had been drooping in her waiting, dragged open again and looked up to see Happy floating just inside the window, smiling stupidly at them in his sleepy haze. "Hey, Happy, about time you got here."

Happy pouted as he drifted down lazily to alight on Lucy's blanketed hip. "Sorry, but I had to eat a delicious fish before I left, and I don't hurry when there's delicious fish to eat!" Seeing Happy work himself up to defend his favourite dish, Lucy let a fond smile cross her face as she extracted one arm out of the warmth of the blankets to tickle under Happy's stubbornly uplifted chin. "Aw, that's okay, Happy. You're here now, so we can all finally go to sleep." Lucy went off into another yawn, not bothering to cover her mouth.

"Yeah," agreed Natsu, unlatching his arms from behind his head so that he could sit up and pick his partner up. "C'mon, Happy, let's go to sleep in Lucy's super soft bed!"

"Aye!" Cheered Happy sleepily as he wriggled out of Natsu's arms. "But I'm going to sleep with Lucy. You always crush me in your sleep!" Natsu yelled in wordless indignation, but Happy ignored him as he crawled over to curl up next to the barely awake Lucy.

The blonde registered the warmth curled next to her arms that were currently drawn up to her chest and grabbed the exceed so that she could cuddle him to her chest, taking comfort in the heat that Happy gave off.

Happy gave off something akin to a purr in answer as he settled into the blonde's arms, tail wrapping around her wrists.

Seeing Lucy's eyes close and Happy beginning to doze off, Natsu gave a shrug before flopping back down onto the bed, arms and legs spread out as Lucy didn't take up much room on her side of the bed since she curled up quite tightly. He lay there for a moment, trying to get to sleep, but he couldn't. Wondering what was bothering him so much, Natsu opened his eyes and sat up as he looked around for what was bothering him.

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary in Lucy's neat room, Natsu crossed his arms and pouted. "What the hell is wrong?" He scanned the room once more before his gaze locked on Happy and Lucy's cuddling forms. "That's it! It's so unfair!" Natsu exclaimed to himself not noticing that his loud voice was waking Lucy up again. "They get to cuddle and I don't!" He nodded sagely before lying back down and scooting himself closer to Lucy and Happy. His left arm went around the top of Lucy's shoulders to drag her closer, mindful of not squishing Happy when he pulled them.

Lucy opened her eyes into slits and observed (with no limit of amusement) Natsu slipping his right arm under her to pull both her and Happy to his chest. Completely fine with this, Lucy hugged Happy tighter and snuggled into the contact, surprising Natsu with her sudden movements. "Are you awake, Luce?"

"Mn," she mumbled, "but not for long." Her eyes slid shut again and she relaxed completely, sleep already darkening her vision.

Natsu stared down at his friend and long-time partner before shrugging and closing his eyes as well. He propped Lucy's head under his chin and slowly let sleep take over his consciousness, content with the fact that one of his nakama wasn't so sad anymore.

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

I hummed to myself as I carefully stitched up a tear in my usual battle top, currently decked out in a ragged, black tank top and orange shorts as my hoodie and other shorts were in the wash. I squinted one eye as I carefully poked the needle through the silk cloth, pulling the needle through along with the silk string that Lyra had provided me with from the Spirit world.

Sure, Lyra could probably provide me with all of my clothes from the Spirit world, but I preferred to earn my clothes and wear them out myself. It also felt like I was abusing my spirits power when they provided me with stuff. Although, I was happy to have such amazing materials to use when I fixed my clothes. I didn't want to tarnish all of the hard work that went into my clothes from my spirits.

"How are you going, Lucy-chan?" Asked Lyra from where she was strumming her lyre on my windowsill, fluttering wings hanging out of the window. She was absently playing random tunes on her lyre, but they all sounded amazing, and apparently the people outside thought so, too, as they often stopped and stood out my window, listening to the sweet notes echoing from the apartment window above them.

"I'm going great, Lyra," I replied, quickly stitching two more cross-stiches. "I should be done in another couple of minutes."

"Great," came a voice from behind me, "I was hoping you'd be done shortly."

Letting out a short shriek of surprise, I stabbed the needle into my thumb in my flailing movements to turn around and see _just who the fuck was in my apartment __**now.**_ "Shit!"

"Oh crap," Gray said as he stood up from where he was lounging on my couch, half-naked. "Did you just hurt yourself? Crap. I'm sorry."

"No," I waved off his apologies with my good hand, the other being inspected with squinted eyes. "The needle's only gone into my thumb a little bit, there's barely any blood."

"But there's still blood!" Screeched Lyra as she fluttered in a flurry of vengeance towards Gray, lyre raised threateningly. "How dare you hurt Lucy-chan!"

"No!" Came the duel shout from Gray and I as Lyra began to swing her precious lyre at Gray.

"Have mercy!" Gray ducked a particularly vicious swing, feet stumbling as he tried to get away from my wrathful spirit.

Wow, that sounded odd. Wrathful spirit. My wrathful spirit…It always sounds like I'm talking about my own spirit when I refer to my spirits; as in, spirits that I regularly summon from their own plane of existence…Plane of existence. Plane; a vehicle that flies, but also a layer of reality…

This is getting weird. I'm stopping now before I get myself confused.

I came out of my thoughts to see Gray running around my living room, Lyra still chasing him and occasionally whacking him over the head with her lyre, accompanied by sharp twangs from the instruments strings and shouts of rage from her. "How dare you hurt my summoner!"

"Oh my god! It's like another Erza!"

I had to stifle a laugh at the comical scene before me. It was like an old Looney Tunes cartoon, featuring my favourite characters; Wil E Coyote and Road Runner.

"Lyra, calm down," I finally said, "or I'll send you back to the Spirit world."

My spirit stopped – albeit reluctantly – and turned to me with a pout on her face. "Ne, Lucy-chan! You know you can't force summon us back yet! You're-"

"Too soft to force you guys back," I finished for her. "Yeah, yeah I know." Waving off any further comments from Lyra, I turned to Gray with a cheeky smile on my face. "So, Gray, what brings you here on this fine day? Interrupting me and my beloved spirit and our wind down time. Also," I held up my bloody thumb, the needle having been removed. "Hurting poor, innocent, ol' me!"

Gray stared at me incredulously, cradling the bumps on his head. "…Your _beloved _spirit just tried to kill me! Doesn't that call for at least _some _concern!"

"Meh," I flapped a hand at him as I cleared up my sowing stuff, "you bitch too much. Now," I turned to him fully, absently sucking on my injured thumb. "What did you come here for?"

"Oh yeah," Gray's expression cleared up, along with the bumps on his head. "I came here to tell you that Natsu and Erza are duking it out down in the street near the guild."

I frowned at this; Natsu hadn't challenged Erza at the station like he did in the series, so what had brought this on? I voiced my question to Gray, and he scowled before answering. "Ash-for-brains thinks that if he challenges Erza, he'll prove, 'once and for all,' he says, that he's better than Erza." He chuckled lightly, "I just want to see him get mauled by Erza." His arm shot out and grabbed my wrist, "so, if we want to see Natsu get beaten into a pulp, like he should, we should head out." Without waiting for my consent, Gray began dragging me towards my front door, unknowingly dragging me right into the path of my chest-of-draws.

"Yow," I instinctively yelped as my bare feet hit the wooden edge of the draws, pulling the toes back in that painful way that makes you feel like you've just nicked a piece of lego.

"Oh crap," Gray cursed. Again. "I just hurt you again, didn't I? Man, I'm sorry."

"It's no biggie," I said as I unlatched myself from his grip to go find some sort of footwear. "But I bet it is for Lyra." I gave off a round of evil laughter as I heard Gray curse again before a resounding twang came from behind me as I disappeared into my cupboard to find a pair of shoes.

"OH MAVIS! NOT THE FACE!"

"BASTARD! GET BACK HERE!"

* * *

I was making dinner when it happened.

Really, I had been expecting it for while now since the incident with Erza and Natsu's fight had happened a couple of hours ago, but it was still surprising to see Natsu and Happy come vaulting through my open window, a piece of paper fluttering from Happy's paws.

Well, the whole part of Natsu and Happy jumping through my window wasn't surprising. They did it basically every day and I had gotten used to it fairly quickly. No, what had surprised me was the fact that the next 'arc' was beginning.

Fucking joy. I got to go to a scary, cursed island and fix their shit up.

But on the plus side, I would get Sagittarius.

Cool bananas.

"Lucy! Lucy!" Called Natsu excitedly as he crashed into my kitchen from my bedroom. "We got something awesome for you!"

"If it's another flaming piece of food that you proclaim is 'edible and extremely delicious,' I'll drop kick you in the nuts." I calmly pulled my dinner of Shepard's pie out of the oven, knowing already that a meal of flaming food wasn't the case of Natsu and Happy's visit tonight.

I heard a start of a reply come from Natsu before it trailed off in a slobbery sound. Gross. "That smells _so gooood_, Luce," drooled Natsu as an answer as he flopped down at my dinner table, completely uninvited and now focused on the prospect of food rather than what he came here for.

"Is there any fish?" Asked Happy hopefully as he clambered up onto the top of the second-hand, dented, wooden table that was where I ate my food.

Placing the dish with the meal in it on a chopping board and placing it down on the table with two plates, I replied. "Yes, I have a fish for you, Happy. And, no, you can't just use your hands to eat straight out of the dish, Natsu. I'll dish it out for us both. _Evenly._" I smiled at the moan of defeat and the yell of happiness that came behind me as I fetched a fish for Happy out of the fridge, where I had already stocked a whole section of assorted fish for the exceed.

Okay, so I may occasionally spoil my friends by cooking them dinner and letting them sleep over – and in my bed, no less – but, I mean, why wouldn't I? I never really had friends growing up, with moving around all the time and all, and only felt useful to Natsu and Happy while in battle or when being hospitable to them.

So cooking it was!

And, besides, I don't get how Lucy could kick them out of her apartment all the time. I genuinely found Natsu and Happy's antics funny, and their tales of their endeavours was fucking hilarious! Why would I be so rude as to kick them out, even if they _did _come in uninvited?

And to argue against that, I did always have my window open, or at least, unlocked.

Humming happily to myself, I directly handed Happy his trout before cutting into the Shepard's pie, hot steam coming out of the potato and cheese topped mess of mince, peas and carrots when the knife bit into it.

Natsu was really drooling when I slid him a plate full of the meal, and, at a glare from me, he grabbed his utensils before digging in.

Calmly picking up my own spoon, I dug into the meal as well, thankful of the years cooking meals for me and my little sister when my parents worked late. And Lyra. Thank Kami for Lyra with her amazing cooking skills, teaching me all sorts of little tricks and tips.

"Fhunks, Lushy!" Mumbled Natsu through a mouthful of potato, already nearly finished with his portion of dinner. He swallowed and gave me a messy grin. "You're the best!"

"I'm equally glad that you enjoyed my meal and remembered my request of thanking those who give you food," I commented quietly, watching my two friends devour their meals. "And it's my pleasure to cook you guy's dinner. Occasionally," I added when I noticed Natsu and Happy's devious looks. "I'll only _occasionally _cook you guy's dinner. Okay?"

Natsu sighed sufferingly, "how could you be so mean, Lucy?"

"How about you cook me a meal for once?" I fired back easily. "You do realise that, even though I don't spend money on frivolous things, I do have trouble maintaining rent, buying myself groceries each week _and _feeding you guys on top of that?"

A look of remembrance came over Happy and I could almost see the light bulb going off above his head. "That's it! That's what we forgot!"

"What's you and Lucy forgot?" Asked Natsu as he looked up from where he was licking my plate clean. I absently slapped him on the hand, making him yelp and put the plate back down, before gesturing Happy to continue. "What did you forget, Happy?"

The blue exceed pulled out a flyer from his green knapsack and held it up for me to see. "This!"

"Oh yeah!" Natsu slammed one of his fists into the palm of his other hand. "That!"

"What is it?" I asked dryly, taking the flyer from Happy with his permission. Scanning the flyer quickly, I nodded in all of the right places, making a show of reading it so that Natsu and Happy thought that I was reading it for the first time, even though I had already seen it many times before while watching the show.

Finishing reading it, I carefully placed the flyer down on the table before gathering all of the plates and utensils to put them into the sink to be washed. I ran the hot water and pulled some detergent from under the sink, filling up the sink with soapy, warm water.

"Well?" Natsu asked impatiently. "What do you think? Laxus said that I was too weak to be an S-class, so Happy grabbed this mission so that we can prove him wrong!"

Glancing up from where I was washing Natsu's plate, I locked gazes with Natsu's puppy eyes. 'Oh crap! Not this again!' Looking away, my gaze now fell on Happy, who was looking at me with tears in his eyes and a pout on his face.

"Guys," I sighed before covering my eyes with sudsy hands. "Please stop. You know I can't handle the puppy eyes. Or, kitty eyes in Happy's case," I added thoughtfully onto the end. "Just, please stop it."

I jolted in surprise when warm hands pried my wet ones off my face. I was then subjected to having an extreme close-up of Natsu's pleading onyx eyes. And let me tell you, having an extreme close-up of Natsu's puppy eyes made me cave quicker than quicksand on a bad day; not like I was going to say no in the first place.

"Yes, I'll go," I conceited, before squeaking at how Natsu, instead of jumping back and yelling in victory like I thought he would, swept me up into a massive bear hug, possibly popping a lot of air bubbles in my back as he did so. "Gah! Let me go, Natsu!"

"Thanks, Luce!" Cheered the boy as he rudely dropped me on my backside, "we'll get this done in no time at all!"

"Aye sir!" Happy posed on the table, one hand on his hip and the other pointed towards my window. "Let's get a good head start, Captain Natsu!"

"Roger that, Crewman Happy!" Both Natsu and Happy leapt for the window, before pausing with one foot (or paw, in Happy's case) out to look back at me expectantly.

"Well, Lucy?" Asked Natsu expectantly. "Are you coming or not?"

Standing up, I wiped my hands calmly on my dishcloth before resuming my scrubbing of the dishes. "We're leaving tomorrow morning."

"What?!" Natsu and Happy yelled together. "No!" Natsu childishly stamped his foot as he leapt back inside my apartment, Happy gliding in beside him. "We're going to leave now!"

Placing the last dish aside and fetching my drying cloth, I answered. "No, we're not leaving now. It's nine at night, I'm tired, and there's no way in hell I'm leaving to go stay in some hotel tonight when I can simply stay here tonight and get up early in the morning. It's illogical and I'm not doing it."

"But, Lucy!" Natsu whined, flopping back down in his seat at my table.

Oh yeah, I was already winning this argument! Natsu should just admit defeat to the great Tia! He can never get past me! Unless he uses the puppy eyes again…But I can hold him off! I have a will of iron! _Most of the time…_

"But, Lucy," I mimicked back in the same whingey tone, making Natsu huff and turn his head away in indignation. "Just head home, Natsu, Happy, and get prepared for tomorrow. I'll meet you at the train station at say…five o'clock?"

There was a choking sound behind me.

"Five?" Happy moaned. "You mean five in the afternoon, right, Lucy?"

I snickered and began to put away the now-clean dishes. "No, I don't mean in the afternoon, I mean at night. But," I shrugged my shoulders as I closed the last cupboard, "if you think that it's too early for a _little kid_ _and kitten _like you guys, I guess we can go around eight. _Surely then_, you kiddies will be up from your nap so we can leave."

"We can get up then!" Shouted Natsu, standing up from the chair and making it clatter slightly from the motion of his action. "We're not babies!"

"Aye!"

Hiding a smile – these two were _too easy _– I turned to face an offended looking Natsu and Happy. "Well, if you're _sure _you can handle it…"

"We'll show you!" Happy shouted. "We're not kittens!"

"Happy, I'm not a cat!" Natsu frowned at his partner in confusion. "I'm no cat, so why would I be a kitten?!"

"Your hair is as soft as a kitten's fur," I remarked as I breezed past him, ruffling his hair as I went. "Well, it's been a pleasure boys, but I'm tired, so could you kindly exit?" I gestured to the window, rather anxious now to brush my teeth, jump into my pyjamas and get to bed. Dealing with these two could get rather tiring at times, you know?"

"Okay then." Natsu gave me a cheery wave before bouncing off my bed to get to my windowsill, ignoring my enraged shout at how 'your bloody shoes will dirty my bed! How many times have I told you not to wear your sandals inside?!' He gave me a wicked grin, "I can't how many times, but I'm sure it won't be the last!"

Happy cackled as he flew past me, grabbing onto Natsu's scarf as he jumped out of the window, making him rise back up to eye-level with my window and me. "Bye Lucy!" Happy wagged his tail at me, Natsu waving goodbye as well below him before the two disappeared in a fluttering of wings and flapping of loose, white pants.

"Night guys," I whispered to the empty room before deciding that I would rather pack my bag now than after brushing my teeth and getting my pyjamas on.

Something about getting ready for bed always made me tired.

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

A set jaw-cracking yawns echo through the port city of Hargeon as our characters set off to find a boat to take them to the 'cursed' Galuna island, where their mission was set.

It was now eight in the morning, and both Natsu and Happy still hadn't woken up completely. They had nearly been late in arriving at the train station that morning, both of them not having packed their bags before they got there.

So, they had barely arrived before five, to find their teammate had already bought their tickets and was calmly waiting for them on a nearby bench, looking like she had a great night sleep consisting of nine hours straight up.

Naturally, both Natsu and Happy resented her for it.

"Come on, boys!" Lucy called to the drowsy, yawning males that dragged their feet behind her. "Now's the perfect time to find a boat and head out to Galuna island! The sun is out, the breeze is strong," the blonde stopped in the middle of the street they were walking along in order to breathe in the fresh, sea air. "And though I may not like the ocean that much, it seems fair conditions! Perfect for sailing!"

"Ugh," Natsu looked to Happy who was currently rubbing his eyes as he walked beside him. "Why does she have to be so goddamn cheery in the mornings? I mean, she didn't even look tired this morning!"

"Aye," Happy said without his usual amount of enthusiasm. "Lucy's weird like that."

"Hurry up!" Lucy skipped back to seize Natsu's hand and tug him forward, snickering when the boy tripped over his feet. "You're not very responsive in the morning, are you?"

"Five is not morning," defended Natsu, "that's like, night time!"

"Whatever you say," Lucy said dubiously, looking at her companion out of the corner of her eye. "And that was three hours ago, you must be awake now!"

Natsu scrunched his nose up at her expression, purposely slowing down as to annoy her and to let Happy (who was rather irritated at being left behind) catch up with them.

"Why don't you guys wait for me?" Happy wailed as he tried to clamber up Lucy's bare legs, claws digging into the frayed ends of her shorts so that he didn't slide back down again. "You're so mean!"

"Aww," Lucy cooed as she picked the cat up from her belted waist (containing her keys and her sword that was fastened to her side – she would _never _forget her weapon and friends in a mission as important as this!) and placed him on her head, letting him settle down in front of her ponytail. "Little Happy's legs are too short to keep up are they?" She laughed at the exceed's whines as she and Natsu rounded another corner of the numerous town's streets. "You're too cute, Happy!"

Just then, a sudden tug on the hem of her worn grey t-shirt had her looking across to Natsu. "What's up?"

"Can we go in there and get some food?" Natsu looked between a small café and Lucy's face, eyes pleading but not yet puppy dog's eyes. "I'm hungry!"

Lucy sighed and shrugged off Natsu's grip, walking on ahead while ignoring the pleas of her friend. "We just had breakfast barely an hour ago!"

"But I'm hungry!"

"I'm not stopping you from buying yourself some food!"

"Oh…yeah!"

Lucy rolled her eyes as Natsu darted back to the café to buy some food with his own jewels. "How do you put up with him sometimes?" She asked Happy.

The exceed shrugged from his perch on her head. "Just bear with him, you'll get used to it soon."

"I think I'm pretty used to it by now," Lucy replied, sitting down on a park bench to wait for her nakama. "I mean, I've been here for a month now, I think I know most of Natsu's perks…" _'And I've seen most of them in the anime and manga,' _she added silently to herself.

"People can surprise you," was all Happy said.

Lucy hummed absently in agreement, relaxing into the wooden slats of the bench, breathing in the sea air as the sun warmed her skin. 'This…this is what life is all about! For all the complicated things that happen in life,' she let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes, 'it's worth it for simple moments like this…'

"What's up with that weird look, you weirdo?!"

Snapping her eyes open, Lucy death-glared Natsu, who was rudely shoving his face right into hers, chewing loudly on some sort of crumbly pastry, that was, unfortunately for Lucy, crumbling right on to her face.

"Shove off, Natsu," the blonde growled, placing her hand against the boy's face and shoving it back hard enough to make him stumble several steps back. "Hey!"

"Hey yourself," Lucy snapped back easily, standing up and dusting herself off. "Now, if you're done grabbing stuff to shove in your mouth," she eyed the packet of donuts tucked under his arms and the bottle of soft drink dangling from his left hand, "we're going to head out now."

Natsu merely grunted through the giant loaf of bread that he was now chewing the end of.

Sighing Lucy tore half of the loaf off, ignoring Natsu's growls and struggles to keep as much of the loaf in his mouth as possible. "Let's just go now," she said, popping a bit of the still warm bread into her mouth. "We'll find hopefully find a boat that'll take us there and get there around twelve."

Natsu choked down the bread in his mouth. "B-boat? We never said anything about a boat!"

Lucy snickered as she began to walk ahead, Happy's tail swinging merrily behind her. "Then you should learn to listen to me! Know this, Dragneel; I'm always right!"

* * *

"Huh," Lucy said to herself as she cast off the small boat alongside Bobo, their captain (and one of the 'cursed' island dwellers). "I guess I'm actually always right."

Natsu was currently already half-unconscious in the barely rocking boat after Lucy had chucked him on when he had attempted to get away, so he couldn't ask what she meant by that. And Happy was too entertained with tickling Natsu's nose with his tail and giggling when the mage couldn't do anything but weakly sneeze and moan.

'I was right in that Gray wouldn't be here yet,' Lucy thought to herself as she leapt lightly onto the boat before the very polite Bobo. 'We probably left _a lot _earlier than Lucy, Natsu and Happy left in the series, so Mirajane probably hadn't found out about the missing S-class request until an hour or so ago.' The blonde settled herself beside a groaning Natsu who was leaning dangerously overboard, flicking back her red tips so that they didn't tickle her neck. 'I wonder what'll happen now since Gray's not here…'

"Thank you kindly for offering to bring us to Galuna," Lucy said to Bobo who was steering the boat. "I apologise for any inconvenience we have caused you." She then looked to Natsu who was dry heaving over the side of the boat. "And for my friend's…current disposition."

Bobo heaved a deep, rattling laugh that would've scared normal people, but Lucy knew that this man – read; demon – was kind and polite. So she didn't fear him. "That's okay, Lucy-san, it is…" he paused considerably, "well, I wouldn't say _pleasure_, but…"

"It's quite alright, Bobo-san," Lucy laughed, "I understand what you're implying and am thankful for it. I know of this island's history and reputation. I also…I also think it's totally bull crap."

Bobo looked surprised as he turned from where he was peering at the horizon. "Bull crap, Lucy-san? What do you mean by that, if you don't mind me asking."

Lucy waved off his concerns with a smile, "no, it's perfectly proper. You see," she leaned forward from where she was leaning against the bow of the boat, bracing her elbows against her drawn-up knees. "If I recall correctly, the people of the island believe that they are cursed due to the moon being purple. But, as you can see," Lucy gestured to the sliver of a moon that stood out in ghostly contrast to the bright, blue sky. "The moon is not purple anywhere else, so the moon _itself _is not the problem. In other places I have heard of the moon changing colour due to natural forces, for example; turning red when in a solar eclipse."

"So, therefore, the catalyst of the colour change is highly likely due to some sort of magic source coming from the island, affecting the moon's image from their point of view since they're in the magic's range." Lucy ended her explanation, looking at Bobo expectantly at his stared back with a blank expression on his face. "Well, Bobo-san?"

"U-um," stammered Bobo, fiddling with the rudder. "I…"

A laugh came from Lucy, "don't worry, Bobo-san, you don't have to answer my theories, I'm putting them out there, that's all." The blonde had to hide a knowing gleam in her eyes as Bobo relaxed in relief, unknowingly shifting his body so that his long cloak covered his demon arm.

A companionable silence fell over the collected group as both Bobo and Lucy were content to stare at the ocean (Lucy was also quite happy to finish of the bottle of soft drink that Natsu hadn't gotten to before they went onto the boat), Happy had fallen asleep on a small bench that the boat provided, and Natsu was too sick to even groan anymore. Something that Lucy was rather happy about.

The serene atmosphere lasted until a dark speck on the horizon began to broaden and gain depth, becoming a heavily forested island.

"Galuna island," Lucy said to no one, smiling up at the form of Bobo that was sneakily flying away, thinking that no one would notice his departure. "Thank you very much, Bobo-san!" She stood up to wave goodbye to the boatman, ignoring Natsu's burbled protests as the boat shook softly.

Bobo startled and looked down to see Lucy waving merrily up at him, not repulsed (or even surprised) to see him flapping above her with his scaly wings and gnarled looking arm. "L-lucy-san?!"

"Don't worry, Bobo-san!" Lucy called out as she grabbed the rudder of the boat. "I'll fix everything for them, and for you! Leave it to me!" She saluted him merrily and Bobo felt a smile crack his face in half. "Thank you, Lucy-san! I'll see you soon!"

Lucy kept saluting him as he disappeared in a flap of his wings and a swish of his lengthy coat. The blonde let out a soft sigh as she held on tightly to the rudder and began to steer the ship gently to shore, not exactly sure of how the small boat worked, either than the mechanics of the rudder. But luckily, the boat made it to shore safely, and Lucy managed to skip off with a still dozing Happy, waiting for Natsu to get out of his motion sickness phase and join them on the shore.

"Ugh," the Dragon Slayer merely groaned as he half hung out of the boat, fingers trailing in the tepid salt water below.

Lucy tutted slightly before placing Happy on her head and leaping back onto the boat, snickering to herself when Natsu groaned even louder at the wild swings the boat made. "You wimp," she said to the other mage as she dragged one of his arms up to drape over her shoulder, huffing at how heavy he was. She then channelled magic to her arms, legs and back so that the muscles there was strengthened, and slowly managed to heave Natsu out of the boat and onto the sand, unknowingly awakening Happy with her stop and start movement.

"L-lucy?" The cat said through a yawn, rubbing one eye with his paw. "Are we there yet?"

"Yeah, Happy," Lucy huffed out as Natsu's feet dragged in the sand, leaving deep furrows behind as their tracks. "We just arrived at Galuna and we're just going to head out to the village where we got the request."

Happy made a sound of acknowledgement before sprouting wings and floating beside her. "Do you want me to take Natsu?"

After looking Happy once over with suspicious eyes (_It_ _was Happy_, after all), Lucy consented, pushing the dizzy-eyed mage upright so that Happy could latch onto him and make them both hover off the ground. "Do you know how to get there, Lucy?"

"Mn," the blonde said as she pushed ahead in the sand, heading for the ring of forest that lined the pleasant beach they were on. "Bobo-san gave me some very good directions before he left, so I'm going to follow them." She glanced around before seemingly finding what she was looking for and hurrying towards her right, Happy floating after her, wondering when exactly Bobo had left and where he was now.

"This is a tropical forest," Lucy said to Happy as her feet magically found a worn path that wound its way through the steamy forest – really, it was more of a jungle – they had entered. "So keep your eyes out for any strange creatures, and make sure that you don't eat any of the plants; tropical areas are known for their poisonous plants that are usually very misleading." The girl said it nonchalantly, but Happy still shivered, imaging all sorts of creepy things lurky in the shadows of the heavy trees. "A-aye."

"Don't worry, Happy." Lucy turned to the blue cat with a soft smile, stepping over a tree root as she did so. "I'll protect you, no matter what."

Happy sniffled before pouting, "I can take care of myself, Lucy!"

The blonde laughed as she led the way through the tiny trail, the bright sky above blacked out by a tangled canopy of trees. "I know you can, Happy."

The two quietened down after the last comment, content on finding their way through the hot, moist jungle of trees. Lucy intent on finding her way and Happy intent on holding onto a slowly recovering Natsu.

It was around half an hour of trekking, after which Lucy's grey shirt was clinging to her and even Happy was panting a bit, that the trio of Fairy tail mages found themselves in front of a humongous wooden gate, the tips of them sharpened and the whole lot lashed together with rope.

"Wow!" Happy chirped through his exhaustion, lowering Natsu to the ground so that he could take a break in Lucy's waiting arms. "That's huge!"

"Yeah," agreed Lucy as she peered up at the gate that towered over her, "an impressive work of architecture there for such a place with a lack of supplies. Quite impressive indeed."

"You there!" A deep voice rung out, making Lucy and Happy jump with the sudden sound.

Happy let out a squeak. "What was that?!"

Lucy soothed him by dragging her fingers through his fur, eyes trained on the two figures that were just above the tips of the gate, eyes glaring right back. "Hello there! It's a pleasure to make acquaintance with you! My name is Lucy, and I'm with Fairy Tail! My companions and I are here to help you with your 'curse!' May we enter?"

"We need proof of your association with Fairy Tail before you enter!" One of the males called down before he was dragged into a short argument with his friend, both of their eyes constantly darting to their small audience below.

"That's quite alright," Lucy agreed easily, interrupting their fight while one of her hands came off from where it was grasping Happy to grab the collar of her shirt. "My guild mark is here, so there's your proof." She tugged it down low enough so that the red fairy mark could be shown on her collarbone, stark against the lightly tanned skin.

The two guards whispered with each other before nodding to each other, and then Lucy and Happy below. "Alright! We'll let you in now!" One of the guards ducked out of view to face the inside of the gate, towards the village hidden inside. "Open up the gates! We have visitors!"

There was a deep rumbling sound as a mechanism was activated inside, making the gates rise up with a collective groan and shudder.

"Neat," was all Lucy said before she placed Happy on her head and dragged Natsu up into a standing position, draping his arm over her shoulder once more. "Come on, bub, let's get you inside."

Natsu burbled something in reply, his eyes slowly coming into focus from his brief rest on the ground.

"Geez," Lucy said to Happy as she walked into the gates, "wonder why he's got it so bad today? This is the worst I've ever seen him."

"Aye, boats are especially bad for Natsu!" Happy twitched his ears and took in the sight of wooden houses and slowly gathering villagers. "It was made worse by all the rocking you made the boat do!" The cat then covered his mouth with his paws and giggled. "Maybe you should lose some weight, Lucy, if you're rocking the boat that much."

"Maybe you should lose that attitude before I make you lose your tail," Lucy fired back easily, placing Natsu on the ground as she stood in front of the crowd of villagers that had gathered inside the village. "Pleasure to meet you." Lucy bowed deeply to the villagers and, more specifically, the village leader, not minding that Happy was digging his claws into her hair so that he wouldn't slip off. "My name is Lucy, the cat on my head is Happy, and my other companion is Natsu. I beg your pardon for his current disposition as he has motion sickness and is recovering from the boat ride here."

There was some murmuring in the crowd before the tiny man up the front of the crowd stepped forward, the tall staff in his left hand tapping softly against the ground. "Hello, Lucy of Fairy Tail. I am Moka, village leader and the one who requested your assistance."

"An honour to meet you, Moka-sama," Lucy smiled down at the village leader, eyes analysing the way that he wore his robes to cover most of his body. "And I am glad to be of assistance to your plight. I have heard that the moon has turned purple."

Several of the villagers narrowed their eyes at the tint of amusement that Lucy's voice held, deeply burrowed, but still colouring her voice slightly.

"Yes," Moka said solemnly, "the moon turned purple of few years back. And since then," he let out a weary sigh as many of his people burst into tears. "We have been…hideous since then. Our bodies…" His right arm unconsciously twitched. "They have been _cursed _by that…_moon._ We have been twisted by its unearthly rays, our limbs becoming…"

"Maybe it will be better to show me, Moka-sama," Lucy cut across the trailing dialogue. "Don't worry, I will not judge your appearances, it would be unprofessional and downright cruel. I have no wish to insult you and your people."

"Aye!" Happy agreed with the blonde, waving one of his paws to the villagers.

Moka hesitated before nodding. "As you wish, Lucy-san." He turned his back on the Fairy Tail mages and addressed the villagers loudly. "Please, take off your cloaks and robes! We shall not hide from these mages, we have nothing to fear!"

More muttering broke out before some of the bolder people ripped their cloaks off, revealing gnarled arms, oddly coloured legs, horns, fangs, scales, wings. You name it, it was there. Several turned away from the newcomers, shamefully trying to hide their afflictions, wary of the disgust that the blonde mage and her companions might show to them.

But, true to her word, no look of revulsion passed over Lucy's face, and only a mere shadow flickered over Happy before he looked upon them with more interest and curiosity then fear.

"Wow!" Many villagers flinched at the sudden outburst from the previously indisposed Natsu, who was now up on his feet and staring at them in awe. "You guys are so cool! I wish I had horns or wings!" The pink-haired boy flapped his arms experimentally, excitement evident in every movement.

His movements were halted by the fist that smashed down on his head, courtesy of an exasperated Lucy. The blonde squeezed the bridge of her nose, trying to keep her irritation at Natsu's interruption of the serious situation down. "I'm sorry, for Natsu's behaviour. He's just a bit excited, that's all." She gave a reassuring smile at the shocked villagers who were trying to decide what to be more surprised at. Natsu's reaction or the casual way the polite blonde had made her friend collapse into the ground, steaming, with a single fist.

"A-ah," stumbled Moka, "t-that's quite alright, Lucy-san. But, as I was saying," his expression turned serious, silencing Natsu's whines at being hurt as he paid rapt attention to the older man with his twisted arm. "The moon's power has cursed us, and left us like this. At night, when the moon's rays shine brightly upon us, we transform completely, turning into something more akin to…_demons._"

A shudder rippled through the crowd, mothers having to silence their children's cries, and neighbours consoling one another with quiet words and soft gestures.

Lucy stayed silent, Happy mimicking the blonde from his perch on her head, eyes slightly sad at the villagers predicament. Natsu stood up to say something, put a sudden tug at his wrist had him glancing down to the slimmer hand that was squeezing the appendage warningly. He then looked up to Lucy's face, and at seeing her blank face staring at the villagers, he understood that this wasn't a place to shout or blurt out anything. This was_ serious._

"_You guys don't see the big picture! The big, bad, and scary things of the real world!"_

'What things have you seen?' Natsu thought, turning his gaze to Moka again. 'What's so big, bad and scary that you don't even react to the fact that these peoples are demons? What are you hiding, Lucy?'

Placing his thoughts to the back of his mind to turn over later, Natsu tuned into Moka's explanation at how some of his people had gone mad and had to be killed. Including his son, Bobo.

"Lucy…" Happy's tone was confused as he hissed into Lucy's right ear. "We met a Bobo, didn't we? He was the boat guy. So, is there another Bobo or something?"

"Don't worry about it," dismissed Lucy, hand going up to rub one of Happy's ears, the other still grasping Natsu's wrist tightly in case he tried anything stupid. "We'll have a ponder later, okay?"

A rumbling purr was what she got in answer as she found Happy's sweet spot.

"Please," Moka stepped forward, eyes and soul pleading. "Help us…by destroying the moon!"

Even Lucy's tight grip on Natsu's wrist couldn't stop him from roaring out his consent, not even minding that the idea itself was ludicrous. "Alright, old man! We'll do it for ya!" Natsu proceeded to ignore Moka's baffled expression and turned to Lucy with an expectant look on his face. "Well, Luce? How do we destroy the moon?"

Lucy huffed out a breath through her nose as she realised that everyone's attention was now on her and her answer. "…I do not have a method to destroy the moon-"

"No plan?!" Moka yelled out, slamming his staff down unhappily as the villagers yelled out their own protests behind him. "How could you have no plan! It's-"

"If you will just let me finish, Moka-sama…" Lucy's tone of voice was frigid and effectively froze everyone in their expressions of rage. "We have only just found out this information, so it is hardly fair that I could come up with a plan right away." Lucy's voice was clinically cold as she spoke, clipped but still maintaining her politeness. "We will be unable to make a plan until tonight, after we see the moon."

A protest rose to Moka's lips but Lucy shut him down quickly. "You gave us no time period for this job, Moka-sama, so you can not protest against our decision to take our time in order to find out how exactly the moon ails you."

Many people wanted to say that _she _was the one making the decisions, not her and her teammates, but Lucy's hard look kept them quiet.

"You have lived for years with this ailment, you can survive another night or two." Lucy's words were unforgiving, but her expression softened at the end. "We shall try our best, for your sake." She gave another polite bow, Happy scrambling to keep his position on her head.

"Uh…" Natsu said intelligently, "what she said!"

A sense of awkwardness fell over the collected group of people as they had no idea of how to move on from the cold conversation that had just happened. It was Lucy's sentence of 'We're going to scout the island' that broke up the monotone of the villagers, and they all drifted off to pick up what they were doing before the Fairy Tail mages had come.

"This will be so awesome!" Natsu cheered as he rushed in front of Lucy, heading back to exit through the now open gates. "We're going to destroy the moon!" Flames belched from his mouth as he rushed forwards, leaping over rocks and felled trees in his excitement.

"Are we really going to destroy the moon, Lucy?" Happy asked the Celestial mage hesitantly, paws fiddling with her fringe. "I mean, it sounds…"

"A little crazy?" Lucy finished helpfully, at which Happy nodded at. "Yeah! I don't even think that _Natsu _can destroy the moon! It's huge!"

"I can, too!" Natsu protested from ahead of the group, face fixated unhappily towards Happy. "How can you doubt me like that, Happy?! I thought we were partners!"

"We are!" Happy cried out. "But you can't destroy the moon, Natsu! That's like…that's like…" Happy struggled to find a simile to show how ridiculous Natsu's proposition was. The exceed suddenly lit up as he thought of something. "That's like destroying the sun!"

'How is that different?' Lucy thought to herself as she walked towards where a trail lead away from the village, different from the path they had taken to the village as it was wider and more used looking. 'Happy is so illogical.' At Natsu's exclamation of 'that makes sense! Sorry Happy!' she added on another thought. 'Natsu is doubly so, though.'

"Let's just look for anything out of place," Lucy addressed her two companions. "Natsu, just try not to burn down the jungle while you're at it."

The Dragon Slayer shrugged unapologetically. "Can't promise anything."

Lucy sighed melodramatically. "If you burn down one tree, there'll be no more dinners waiting for you at my place." She then shrugged, keeping up a fake remorseful voice as she went. "And you can't sleep in my bed anymore…too bad."

"NO!" Natsu yelped, jumping in front of Lucy with his hands held up apologetically. "I swear I won't burn _anything_, Lucy! Not if it means I don't get to sleep in your bed!"

"Okay," Lucy said disarmingly, patting Natsu comfortingly on the head as she brushed by him. "Then lead on, withholder of fire."

* * *

Unknown to our trio of Fairy Tail mages, two people were coming for them, not caring of what level of pain they would deal upon the unsuspecting Fairy's (really, it was only one person who wished for pain on them, but let's just play along with it, okay?)

"I swear," a red-haired demon hissed to herself as she stood at the portside of a large pirate ship, excreting dark aura that promised pain if you entered its circumference. "I will _demolish _those three when I find them! Then I will hand them over to Master, who will invoke a most _extreme _punishment on them!"

A safe distance away, Gray observed an extremely mad Erza who was currently glaring over the ripples of the ocean they were sailing on towards Galuna island. "Oh boy, Lucy and Natsu are _so fucked _when we catch up. They'll wish they never stole this goddamn S-class." He then shuddered as he imagined what sort of painful things would happen to them, courtesy of Erza. Then he covered his eyes as he imagined what sort of things _Master _would do to them as punishment.

"So fucked indeed."

* * *

**I'll say that it's not my best work, but it'll suffice. **

**There is a lot of fancy sounding dialogue in there, so I apologise if anyone seems OOC. The fact that Gray wasn't with them when they got to Galuna was simply because Natsu, Happy and Lucy/Tia left earlier than in the series, so Gray couldn't catch up to them. And I'm making it that Erza was going to arrive back to the guild soon after Gray was going to leave, so Master made him wait for her. And yeah…that's really all…except for one thing.**

**Q: What the **_**hell **_**is Black Butler about? I read the first manga, then accidentally the fifth, and I'm not too sure if there's a storyline or not. The characters seem awesome and all that, and the fact that Sebastian is some sort of demon is cool, but they went from a hostage situation to a contest of curry in four books! What the fuck?! AND JUST WHAT GENDER IS THE GARDERNER?! I SWORE IT WAS A FEMALE, BUT IT WAS ADDRESSED AS 'my boy.' **

**WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS THING?!**

**Much obliged if you answer. (I might make it that I ask an anime/manga related question at the end of every chapter as I'm curious about all the different stuff out there). **

**Ciao.**

**P.S. Longest chapter yet of this story!**


	14. The only sane ones band together

**Ola! I'm back from me break! Did ya miss me? Ah, I've really got nothing to say here, so I'll hurry up and give you the next chapter.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_Fairy Tail isn't mine and never will be, no matter how much I threaten Mashima-sama_

**Warning: **_The usual language, fighting and Erza's wrath! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!_

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

"I am very confused as to how this happened," Lucy commented idly as she stared at the downed form of the maid outfit wearing, giant rat that had just attacked them. "I mean, when do you see a rat _that _size, or wearing a maid outfit? I may have seen a lot of things in my travel – including a man who used his ear hair to fly – but this is going near the top of odd things I've encountered."

"You're analysing this too much, Lucy!" Happy chirped as he floated next to her. "A rat came, Natsu punched it a few times, and it was done for the count. That's it!"

Rolling her eyes, Lucy began to walk towards where Natsu was poking the rat – whose name was Angelica, if she remembered correctly. "You have such a simply mind, Happy."

The blue cat whined and moaned but flapped after her, drifting on ahead to alight on Natsu's head. "Natsu~! Lucy's being mean to me~!"

"Oh, grow up," Lucy said. "Besides, I don't think we should stay here much longer, we've already explored a lot of the island. Natsu," she addressed the boy who was finding great pleasure in playing with Angelica's mouth, "do you mind heading back to the village?"

"What?" Natsu said, standing up. "Why?"

"Because it's nearly dark and we need to observe the transformation of the island people. That's the whole reason we're here, remember?"

"Why aren't you coming back, though?" Asked Natsu curiously.

Lucy wrinkled her nose at him, straightening out her sweat-drenched t-shirt – oh how she hated humidity! "I have one more thing I would like to do before heading back to the village. I'm just going to view the rising moon from different positions on the island and see if whatever is affecting the moon is only affecting a certain area."

Okay, so that wasn't all true. Lucy actually also wanted to just go off in a quiet area of the forest and train for a while. After ten months of being on the road and spending most of her life with just her sister for constant company, the past month of being at a crowded Fairy Tail, always surrounded by people, having Natsu sneaking in almost every night; it really tolled on her. Her social skills had never been that great, so having to talk with people all the time and spend large stretches of time in their presence was both strange and tiring. She just wanted some time to herself, and this was a good time as any to pull out one of her less talkative spirits and spend some quality time with them; something she hadn't done for a while for this particular spirit.

If it wasn't enough, she might go on a job by herself after she finished this. At least have a few days on the road, like old times.

"Oh," Natsu said, not too sure about all the reasoning that Lucy had said, but it sounded legit. "Okay, I guess. I'll see ya back at the village then?" Without waiting for an answer, Natsu began to bound off through the trees, chatting happily with Happy about seeing all the 'super cool transformations!'

Sighing in fond exasperation, Lucy pivoted on her foot and went off in search for a nice clearing to set up in before Natsu thought about following her, or Lyon and his gang found her beside Angelica's unconscious body.

That wouldn't bode well.

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

Sighing happily, I collapsed into the shade of a canopy of trees, the cool shadows and lush grass beneath me soothing my burning skin.

"I love you clearing," I mumbled to the ground, extremely happy that I had found a secluded clearing before I fucking died of heat exhaustion. Taking a few minutes to rub and roll myself across to ground liberally, I finally sat up, not minding the grass stains covering me, so I could call out one of my spirits.

"Cancer?" I called softly, touching his key from its place on my belt. The usual golden flash appeared in front of me, my crab spirit appearing with his customary stoic look on his face. "What can I do for you, ebi? No enemies today?"

Shaking my head, I stood up. "No enemies today, Cancer. I was just hoping that we could practise? Please?" I looked at him imploringly, hoping that my eyes were shining at least a little bit.

"Alright, ebi." Cancer agreed easily, seeming happy. "It's been a while since we last practised, isn't it, ebi?"

"Aye!" I smiled at him.

Cancer nodded before his hands began to glow, using an interesting form of magic that Lucy hadn't known about in the series. Although Cancer liked to primarily use his scissors to fight, he was also capable of wielding plenty of other short blades to a mastery. He was also capable of pulling blades from the Spirit world without having to fully go back there. It was a form of re-quip that transcended planes of existence, and I could also put in other blades of mine there if I gave them to Cancer. I had a default katana in there, as well as a long sword, but it was more difficult for Cancer to pull them through into this world as their matter density was much higher than his usual short blades.

At seeing two short knives appearing in Cancer's hands (ones that Cancer taught me to wield and preferred to use), I quickly spoke up. "Are we allowed to use my old blades? It feels like it's been too long since I last practised with them." At seeing the blades in Cancer's hands waver before disappearing, I smiled victoriously.

Shortly, Cancer was holding two chunks of metal that were far thinner than the previous knives. He handed them to me and I brushed my fingers over them reverently before snapping them open with a flick of my wrist.

"Oh man," I sighed at seeing my gleaming butterfly knives, "I missed these so much."

"I know you realise that these blades are illegal in Fiore," said Cancer quietly, "but I am curious as to who taught you how to wield them. I didn't teach you, ebi."

Not looking up from where I fiddling with my knives – continuously opening and shutting them with sharp snaps and flicks of my fingers and wrists – I answered my spirit honestly. "You already know of where I learnt such tricks, Cancer. After all, you know of who I am."

"Of course, ebi," Cancer said clinically. "I know of who you are, Tia, but I do not understand why you do not talk of your identity with your other spirits. Lucy already had Aquarius, Taurus and I before you took over, ebi. I know that those two are already aware of the fact that you are not Lucy, yet you have not talked to them about it like you do with me."

"I am simply waiting for Aquarius and Taurus to approach me with their questions," I replied, tossing the blades up and down while I opened and closed them. "Only you three know that I am Tia, not Lucy as I say, but only you approached me about it. So, I shall continue to talk to you about it, not the two who don't have enough courage to confront me about my identity."

There was a click as Cancer adjusted his glasses, a familiar sound around him. "I guess so, ebi. But you do know that Aquarius is waiting for you to slip up, and Taurus is content in waiting for you to talk to him about it."

I laughed ruefully. "I guess we're all just waiting."

Cancer nodded at me as he drew his scissors that gleamed dangerously in the fading light that crept through the tree canopy above. "It seems so, ebi. Now, shall we begin?"

Catching my blades and holding them at the ready, I smirked at him. "We shall, Cancer."

At the shift of Cancer's footing, I darted forward, wielding my blades as I slashed at him and parried his own attacks. Just the usual, quiet, comforting battle of finesse that Cancer and I had.

* * *

**Gray P.O.V. (Holy shit!)**

Cursing the terrifying red-head and her demonic aura, I stumbled through another rough patch of the small trail I was walking on; the one that Natsu had said that Lucy was walking down the last time he saw her.

That idiot! Who the hell ditches their friend in the _middle of a freaking island they know nothing about?! _Sure, flame-brain said that they had already explored the island, but Lucy didn't know it well enough to find her way back to the village. That idiot and his dumb cat were convinced by a blonde's words…I actually don't feel remorse for that idiot anymore, even though Erza is still probably punishing him now.

Memories of past punishments that Erza had inflicted on me made me stop and shiver in phantom pain. That woman was scary as hell! She definitely wasn't human!

Cursing both her, Natsu and my stripping habit, I scrambled back down the path to pick up my stray t-shirt. Fucking humidity…

Pausing in my damning of anything in the existence of everything, I heard a sharp screech echoing out from the thicket of the forest. It didn't sound anything like the numerous tropical birds I had seen and heard around the island, and growing up with Erza, a weapons mistress, made me privy to identifying such sounds.

Someone was fighting. With weapons, no less.

Deciding to do a Natsu (something stupid and not well thought through), I veered off the path I had been following and headed off into the thick jungle trees, the slowly setting sun my only light; and that was nearly completely cut off by the trees foliage. The sounds of metal hitting metal got louder the further I went in, and soon I could hear other sounds. Grunts of exertion and sudden, sharp calls; some sounding amused and others blanker and deeper.

I wonder who it is. It sounds like two people, and one sounds like a female…

Ducking underneath a low hanging branch, I slipped past a few more leafy plants and found myself on the fringe of a clearing. But it was the happenings of the inside of the clearing that had me stopping and staring.

Lucy; shirt discarded to the side, happily brandishing two slivers of silver as she danced around in her chest wrappings and frayed shorts. She would engage and break off with a man who stood a whole head taller than her, made slightly more so by his wild hair and the appendages coming off him. Strangely, six crab-like legs jutted out of his back and he seemed to be wielding to ornate scissors that clashed and clanged against Lucy's slivers of silver. This must be the only spirit that Lucy hadn't introduced to the guild, saying that he was fine with wherever Lucy was and didn't need to meet the people who had taken her in; Cancer.

Both were an intimidating (and slightly lightening) sight as they wielder what I could only assume to be their chosen blades, both with a sense of finesse and flair. Something that was very different to Lucy's normal sword style that she declared to have 'no frills and no fucking around.'

It was slightly strange to see the blonde openly laughing and smiling as she tossed her unravelling ponytail, kicked up her bare feet (as she had discarded her usual boots to the side, alongside her grey t-shirt), and generally looked like the young girl she really was. Normally, she looked older beyond her years, having a serious or politely quiet smile on her face; she was very much like Erza in that sense.

The odd scene kept me enraptured for a good while, it was only the sudden realisation of just how dark it was getting that roused me from my state of wonder and propelled me forward. "Lucy! I've been looki-!"

A whistling sound and a brush of air had me freezing and throwing my hands up in surrender as two dull thuds sounded against the trees behind me. "What'd I do?!"

"Oh shit," came Lucy's shaky voice, "Gray! Jeez man, you really scared me there. Don't do that!" The blonde stomped towards me, her face a mixture of embarrassment, mild anger, shock and relief. "How did you even sneak up on me?"

"The hell if I know!" I said, relaxing my arms and slinging my hands into the pockets of my pants that were (miraculously) still on.

Twisting her lips into a vaguely amused expression, Lucy ghosted past me, hands reaching for something. The action had me turning and following her path of action, only to see her pulling two thin blades out of the tree behind me; both were proportioned to barely graze either side of my head.

"You just tried to kill me!" I yelped, eyes wide in disbelief. "What the hell, man?!"

"You surprised me," Lucy defended as the flicked the blades closed skilfully. "So, therefore, it's your fault!"

Opening my mouth to argue, I found myself cut off by a male's voice that could only be Cancer. "What are you doing here, ebi?"

_Ebi? _Shrimp, really? A crab looking man saying shrimp was a little bit weird, even for Lucy's spirits standards. (And she had a cross thingy that was always sleeping. That is, until it would suddenly scream and shout out an answer to whatever question Lucy had asked him. It…Whatever).

Apparently my thoughts showed on my face as Lucy sent me a small smile and patted me sympathetically on the shoulder as she brushed past me to stand next to her spirit; who was currently staring at me, gripping his scissors with a serious expression on his face. Heck, he seemed like a serious guy in general.

"Um," I said awkwardly, the glassed gaze on me from the spirit was slightly disconcerting, "I went searching for you since it's dark and Erza wants you back in the village as quickly as possible. And," I barely held back a shudder, "after seeing what she was doing with Natsu when I left, I think it'll be better to get home sooner, rather than later, as she'll get impatient at some point and that'll mean more pain for you when you get there."

"So Erza's here?" Lucy asked, looking rather puzzled and surprised as she pulled her top on, her two blades clutched in her hands until she chucked them to Cancer, who caught them without looking away from me. Creepy.

"Y-yeah," I managed to say, tearing my eyes away from Cancer's gaze and towards where Lucy was sitting on the ground, pulling her socks and boots on. "She got back to the guild around half and hour after Mira found out the missing request. We had been bickering about what we should do about that situation the whole time, but when she walked in and heard the situation, she declared punishment on you two, grabbed me, and dragged me to the train station, not even giving me time to grab anything as we went."

"Sounds rough," Lucy said sympathetically, but a small grin was playing around her mouth as she said it, making sure I knew that she was amused. "But you're right, we should head back quickly. I need to see the villagers change into demons so that I can assess the situation." The blonde flicked her gaze up to the sky as she stood up, taking in the darkness slowly taking over the sky and the disappearance of the sun. "We might have to run, though."

I shrugged, "sounds good to me."

As I made sure I had all my clothes on and accounted for, Lucy was bidding Cancer farewell and promising to practise with him soon, using his choice of blades next time. The spirit agreed easily and disappeared, along with his vocal tick and the glare boring into the back of my head. I had a feeling that Cancer didn't like me. Not at all…

"Alright," Lucy said as she popped up beside me, looking sweaty and tired, but quietly pleased, "let's go, hidey-ho!"

Vaguely wondering at her odd words, I nodded and led the way out of the clearing, retracing my steps as I went. As soon as we found our way back to the trail, I found myself stumped at which way I should go. Both ways looked identical and now there was no sun to guide me as to where east was. I didn't know how to navigate by stars either.

"We head this way," Lucy spoke up, stepping onto the path and heading along to the left. "This is the way back to the village."

"How do you know?" I asked, "do you navigate by the stars?"

"Partially," she admitted, eyes scanning the surrounding jungle that was coming alight with night creature's sounds. "But it's also a feeling of that I have to go this way."

"A feeling?" I demanded, incredulous. "You're betting our sense of direction on _a feeling?_"

"Yes," Lucy said back crisply, eyes scanning me now, rather than the shadows in the night. "But it isn't a gut instinct, it's more a feeling of…magic. Yeah, I can somewhat sense the magic surrounding me, and I have a strong feeling from this way." She finished by waving her hand down the direction of path we were taking, expression thoughtful.

"So the strong feeling is of the village," I thought aloud, mind caught up on that Lucy could sense Eternano, the particles of magic that reside in every living thing.

"No," Lucy said shortly, jumping lightly over a felled tree, prompting me to do so as well. "I sense…call it a sixth sense or something-"

"You can sense Eternano," I cut in, "that's what you're sensing. I've never met anyone who could do it, but apparently there are a few people who can sense Eternano and can even see it in rare cases."

Lucy nodded, "yes, I was informed of the Eternano and my abilities by a seer that I met in my travels. I stayed with her for a while and she helped me refrain my ability. She said that I was naturally already attuned to Eternano, but with my magic, which connects me to the heavens and a holy level of Eternano, I have a large boost. Unfortunately," the girl sighed, "I can only really identify a few things of the Eternano."

"Such as?" I prompted.

Lucy sent me an amused look before halting, making me stop in fear of bumping into her. "What?"

Smiling now, Lucy knelt down and brushed the foliage off the trail we were on. "You asked me what I could identify, and this is the easiest thing I can sense." The girl dug up a large double handful of moist dirt, standing up so that she could cup it carefully and brandish it towards my face.

Quickly, I averted my head so I didn't get dirt in my eyes. "What?"

"Gaia," Lucy said simply, withdrawing her hands so that she could look at the dirt in her hands with a look of reverence. "I can sense the Eternano from the Earth, and everything she's connected to." The blonde let the dirt trickle through her fingers, clapping her hands together to get rid of the last traces after the main part was dropped. "It's wonderful to be able to sense the _power _the Earth has to offer." Lucy skipped forward a couple of steps and flung her arms out, twirling in a circle and breathing in deeply. "Simply wonderful…"

Observing her peaceful expression, I let a small smile cross my face. "You're really passionate about the environment, aren't you?"

A brown eye focused on me. "Of course, it's a beautiful thing that you humans take for granted _way _too much. You wouldn't understand."

Not feeling bothered that she referred to herself as a non-human, I chuckled before beginning to walk ahead, expecting Lucy to catch up. When she dropped into a fast step beside me, I asked the question I had been meaning to ask since this topic came up. "So, if you don't sense the village, then what are you sensing?"

Lucy looked up at me with her peaceful look still lingering, softening her features to a childish beauty. "Natsu. Who else?"

"What do you mean, Natsu?" I asked, shooting looks at Lucy as we stepped out into a more open trail and went left at Lucy's order at a crossroad.

"I mean," Lucy said patiently, "that I can sense Natsu's magical power. It's practically a massive, burning, bright beacon that I can sense from all the way over here. It was only recently that I began to pick out Natsu's magical signature, and that's only because I spend a fair amount of time with him and his magic level is so high."

"I can also vaguely sense Erza." Lucy's face was now screwed up in concentration as she looked towards something that I couldn't see or sense. "She's a lot more subtle; smoother and more…sweet. Yeah, she's sweet."

'Erza?' I scoffed mentally. 'Sweet?'

"As impossible that sounds," Lucy said dryly, seemingly have just read my mind, "but it's true." She then looked up at me again, face more relaxed again. "I like your magical signature better, though."

"Mine?" I said before mentally berating myself for the splutter that came at the end of the word. "What's so good about mine then?"

"Well," Lucy said, fishing for the words. "You're…you're cooler than Natsu, as ironic as it sounds, but it's a nice cool. It's soothingly cold. Like a cold drink in a hot day." The blonde considered her next sentence or two as we walked along a trail in the last traces of the sun. "You are also soft, not sharp like Erza or what your magic would seem, but soft. Like a snowflake!"

I tried to cover up my annoyance and indignation of being compared to a _snowflake _of all things, but Lucy apparently caught the look as she quickly tried to rectify her words. "It's not like…it's not wimpy like a snowflake!" The girl genuinely seemed flustered, a novel and new sight for me as she fumbled and stuttered. "It's…it's so goddamn hard to explain!" Throwing her hands up in the air from anger, the blonde suddenly whirled on me, eyes bright. _"You're beautiful!"_

There was an almost awkwa-no, _definitely_ awkward silence as we both paused, Lucy's blushing face barely illuminated by the dusk light. I'm sure my face was a mask of disbelief and slight embarrassment as I looked to Lucy for an explanation.

"Um," Lucy said intelligently, finding great interest in her sword that hung in its sheath on her hip. "Can we forget that _that _ever happened?"

I suddenly found her mortification and the words she said to be of great amusement, and I couldn't help it as I burst into great gusts of laughter, bending over and leaning my arms against my knees as I did so.

"Hey!" Lucy's angry voice called out. "Stop that, you dick! It's not funny! I try and explain something that can't be explained in words, and then you go and _laugh _at it. You're being an ass. A dick and an ass. You dickass. Assdick."

I had been trying my hardest to choke down my laughter, but Lucy's last comments had me going again, and I couldn't seem to stop. Soon enough, Lucy saw the funny side and began to laugh along beside me, her quiet chuckles lost in my louder and deeper laughter.

"Ah," I said, finally straightening up and composing myself, "that was _too good._"

I caught sight of Lucy rolling her eyes, blush still lingering, as she stalked ahead. "Yeah, real funny. Now, let's hurry up and get to the village before night comes, and werewolves as well, to rip dickasses like you to pieces for being around when it's their time to rule."

Still chortling at the word, I jogged to catch up to Lucy, only hiccupping here and there as we approached the village gates. Just before Lucy could walk in ahead after calling up to the guards to let us in, I gave her a sly look as I stopped her. "Remember; you think I'm _beautiful_."

And before the girl could recover and yell at me or wallop me over the head, I punched her jokingly in the shoulder before racing off to go and cower behind Erza. The demon's wrath would be directed towards Lucy, which meant I could use her as a main defence.

Natsu's broken body would be the last shield.

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

"Lucy!" Bellowed Erza as soon as she saw the blonde with red tips come ducking into the tent that the villagers had set up for the Fairy Tail mages to use while they found a house for them to stay the night in at, as the tent itself didn't have cover on two sides. Gray had arrived a minute earlier, panting and looking slightly panicky as he dived over Natsu's large backpack and bedroll to hide. Oddly, he was smiling as he did so.

"One second," Lucy said to Erza casually, holding a finger up for emphasis. "I just have to kick Gray in the nuts a few times, thank you very much."

"Punish her now, Erza!" Howled Gray (not smiling anymore), hands snaking out from his hiding spot to grab a completely woozy and beaten Natsu that had been lying on the ground nearby. He drew the other boy close and propped him up so that Natsu's body was hiding his own, almost like a shield.

"Not until I break your balls!" Lucy screeched, her ruffled and messy looking ponytail almost puffing up behind her in anger. "Come here, Fullbuster!"

"No!" Gray shoved a moaning Natsu towards Lucy, warding the girl off as he scrambled up and backed further into the tents, legs bumping against a dozing Happy who had been napping on Lucy's small backpack that she had brought. The cat woke up at Gray's presence and quickly took in the scene, sprouting wings and shooting off into the air in a record breaking time.

Lucy advanced on the sweating Ice mage and his hostage, teeth grinding and eyes alight with an unholy light. "He won't save you, Fullbuster!" To stress this, Lucy's hands snatched at Natsu before flinging him to the side, not minding that the already injured boy was flung completely out of the tent.

An almost girly scream came from Gray at the sight of Lucy raising her thick boots. He was then saved by Erza placing a hand on Lucy's shoulder to restrain her, fed up with the lack of attention her warnings of punishment was greeted with and her nakama's behaviour.

"Lucy…" Erza's voice was dark and full of pain, but Lucy's glare was equally dark as she lowered her leg (to the relief of a trembling Gray) and turned her full attention on Erza. "What?" She snapped out, uncharacteristically rude sounding.

"You went on an S-class job without _being S-class_," Erza growled, "it's time for your punishment!"

Before Erza could invoke any pain on the shorter girl, she found a palm in her face, a universal sign of 'stop' or 'no.' Neither were things that Erza liked.

"Ah, ah, ah," Lucy drawled out, "I believe I will not be having a punishment right now, Titania." The blonde continued to talk over any protests that Erza could have. "It would be incredibly unprofessional to see people of power – us mages – belittles so in front of the people they have to protect and serve – the villagers. So you can save my punishment for another time, Erza, maybe when we arrive back to the guild, because, right now, that just wouldn't do."

Gray, gaping, looked at Lucy with a sense of awe and horror. Awe; because, she just stood up to the _Titania. __**Again! **_And horror; because she was _so fucked._

Surprisingly, Erza was considering her words and, after a moment, released the blonde and relaxed, nodding all the while. "You are correct there, Lucy, I am sorry, I was being unprofessional. I apologise."

"Don't apologise to me," said Lucy, sounding more composed and much like her politer self, "apologise to Natsu, whom you hurt _unprofessionally._"

Erza nodded again, eyes compassionate. "Yes! I shall apologise to Natsu for my unprincipled behaviour!" The Re-quip mage stalked over to where Natsu was still lying (also being gawked at by several of the villagers at the state of his wellbeing) and picked him up, the boy flopping pathetically like a ragdoll, before clutching him to her hard breastplate with a resounding clang, shouting words of apology as the boy groaned.

Gray looked over at the scene the two were making before looking back at Lucy, mouth open in shock. Then back to Erza and Natsu, and then Lucy. Natsu and Erza. Lucy. Idiot and demon. Blonde who was basically a god in his book at the moment. "Y-you just defused the demon's wrath! This is…"

"Some sort of Black magic?" Lucy said, amused by his reaction. "But, yeah, I directed Erza's anger away from me and got out of punishment. So what?"

"So what?" Gray spluttered. _"So what?! _So you just did something that I've never seen in the history of me being on the planet! You just _calmed down __**Erza!" **_The Ice mage twitched in disbelief before suddenly relaxing, eyes now alight in mischief. "_But…_that still means you have to get punished! At the guild, remember!"

Yes, Gray," drawled Lucy as she adjusted her belt and made sure it was secure. "I remember what I said, not even a minute ago. And besides," a gleam now came into her eyes, made darker by her wicked grin, "I'll just tell her that _Master _should be the one who should deal with my punishment, as he is the one who will be most angered by this development."

Gray nearly began to argue against this point, as _how _could _Master's _punishment be any better than Erza's – they were ten times more embarrassing and you could never live them down for the rest of your life! – but Lucy spoke quickly, explaining with a sense of deviancy. "But I know Master wouldn't _really _hurt me, and I'll just play the innocent card to trip his guilt, and the concerned nakama for my involvement of this mission in the first place – I didn't want Natsu to injure himself as he had already been adamant that he was going and I should go along to make sure he isn't injured, rather than leave him to get hurt on his own."

"…You devious bitch," Gray said with no amount of wonder. "You conniving, _genius _bitch."

"I try," Lucy said with a smirk, "I really do."

Happy looked down at the two, utterly confused as to how they were fighting one moment and calmly talking the next. Pondering it for a moment, the cat decided that he would never understand humans and that was perfectly fine by him.

"Excuse me…?" Hesitantly, a young girl poked her head into the tent that Moka-sama had directed her towards. He stated that she needed to go and find the blonde-haired girl, so that he could show her their transformations. The moon was already peeking over the horizon, so the transformation was going to begin soon. Something that she dreaded, alongside the rest of her people.

Nobody turned at her quiet words. The blonde-haired girl was chatting away with a navy-haired boy, a blue cat occasionally speaking up from where he was floating overhead. Stepping further in, the girl spoke up again. "Excuse me? Lucy-san?"

The blonde-haired girl turned, eyes bright. "Yes?" Upon spotting the small villager, her expression turned more serious and she began to walk over. "Is it time?"

"Y-yes!" The small villager nodded. "Moka-sama wishes for you to join him in the centre of the village. That's where most of us gather."

"Right!" Lucy nodded before starting to walk out of the tent at a brisk pace. "Lead on, please."

Startled, the girl wavered before turning and racing after Lucy, her short brown hair bouncing as she went. It only took a minute of walking before Lucy and her guide arrived at a large clearing in the centre of the village, of which Lucy realised was where she first met Moka and his people.

"Moka-sama," Lucy murmured, bowing to the short leader.

"Thank you for coming, Lucy-san," Moka returned the bow, movements stiff in old age. "The moon is coming up now, and I have myself and a few of my people to show you exactly how the moon affects us and transforms us."

"I am thankful for your help, Moka-sama" Lucy said politely, "as well as your people's. I shall not judge your appearance, that, I assure you."

The villagers simply nodded back before a few of them looked up at the sky and murmured sadly, drawing everyone else's attention up to the moon that was now up above the horizon and glowing an awful shade of purple. The villagers began to shudder, and Lucy watched closely as their form wavered, grew and split, forming gross appendages and scaled skin.

After barely thirty seconds, the gathered villagers were changed and weeping as they tried to hide themselves. Lucy stayed quiet as they squirmed under her gaze, before shortly nodding, thanking them for their help, and informing them that it would only take around thirty hours at the most to fix everything for them.

Some looked doubtful while others looked genuinely happy. Moka was one of the doubtful ones and voiced his protest over the fact that he had hired them to destroy the moon, and they weren't even doing that.

"Moka-sama," Lucy said shortly, "I will inform you now; destroying the moon is an _impossible _task." She held up her hand to stop the leader's protest, gaze sharp. "The moon is only a fraction smaller than this planet, and is highly important to the functions of this planet. Without it, the seas will rise and drown these lands, or run so far out that there will be no ocean here anymore and you could walk back to the mainland."

"I don't care about that!" Snapped Moka. "I care about my appearance going back to normal and-!"

"Stop being so selfish!" Lucy swung an arm out angrily, eyes blazing with her rage. "You don't understand! The moon _can't _be destroyed! The amount of magical power needed to do so is impossible to gather unless majority of this planet were mages and all of them focused their magic attacks at one point! Besides," Lucy said, posture slackening and dropping her angry look for a blank one, "I already have an idea of how to fix your problem, Moka-sama, and it doesn't involve destroying the moon." With that, the blonde gave them one last bow, looking much sharper and jagged around the edges, before stalking off to find her companions.

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

Upon dumping my bag on the wooden floor of the hut we had been given for the night to sleep in, I let out a groan before collapsing to the ground, face planted into the mercifully cool wooden slats.

"Alright there?" Gray's amused voice came from behind me and I felt a foot poke me in the side, making me stifle a giggle at the ticklish feel and hide it by snarling softly and slapping Gray's bare foot away from me.

"Testy, testy," teased Gray as he dropped into a couch behind me, the only piece of furniture in the room, oddly. He wore only his boxers and his expression was fixed into a smirk as he looked at me.

I moaned in answer and slammed my face back into the ground. "I'm tired! Stop judging! I'm sweaty from this fucking humidity and training earlier on means I'm doubly so, and tired! Give me a break, man."

"Training?!" Now Natsu's voice was the one speaking to me as he dropped down, cross-legged, beside me, his movement making the floor judder. "Why didn't you invite me, Luce?!"

"Because it's super secret ninja training," I said sarcastically, too tired to be polite anymore.

"Ninja training!" Natsu exclaimed, sounding _way _too excited for anyone's own good.

Christ, I forgot that he had a weird fascination with ninjas. Damn you mouth! Just shut up right now!

"You realise you're speaking out loud right now," Gray spoke up over Natsu's shouts, "don't you?"

I raised my head to glare at him. "And don't you realise that I'm tired and _don't give a fuck right now?! _Can I not just hurry up and go to sleep?"

"Lucy is right," said Erza as she entered the premises, gaze stern as she took in the surroundings. "We've all had a long day and getting rest is important if we wish to find out what is going on with the villager's condition."

"Already know what to do and how to fix it," I waved my hand lazily in the air before rolling over so that I could find a more comfortable position, tucking my backpack with the last morsels of food for breakfast tomorrow under my head for cushioning. I could almost pretend that I had been given some lodging on someone sympathising saps floor, just like I had done several times while I was travelling.

"I'll explain it tomorrow in the morning" I said to placate any protests Erza or Natsu had, "right now, I'm going to pass out and sleep, thank you very much."

"Aye!" Chirped Happy as he fluttered in through an open window (it was _way _too hot to have all the windows shut), the last remains of a fish a villager must've given him disappearing down his throat. "Bedtime with Lucy!" The cat touched down beside me before curling up in my open and waiting arms, just like he did every time he slept with me.

Sighing happily, I snuggled close to Happy and began to close my eyes, shutting out the fuss that the others were making as they got ready for bed as well.

"Hey," a hand tapped me gently on the shoulder and I opened a bleary eye to survey Gray's face leaning in on me. He held up something green and floppy, "don't you need a bedroll? It's got to uncomfortable lying on the floor, it's hard."

"Not like I haven't done it before," I mumbled, blinking heavily, "and I don't have a bedroll anyways. Never have."

Gray look taken aback, "really?" He then looked uncertainly at his bedroll before offering it to me with a stubborn look on his face. "Well then, you can use mine. I couldn't sleep if a girl was sleeping on the hard floor and I had this. As much as you don't seem to be a girl," Gray added at the end with a smirk.

"Haha," I laughed dryly, not amused, "put your roll down, Fullbuster, and sleep on it. I don't need anything like that, the ground isn't hard to me. And, besides, I know something will just _happen_, making me unable to sleep on it or something."

Gray looked doubtful before nodding reluctantly and laying out his bedroll beside me, collapsing onto it with a grace that Natsu lacked. "Night."

"Night," I replied, trying to get back to sleep. Unfortunately, a hot arm around me had my eyes snapping open and me turning to face the source in my discomfort. "Natsu," I said shortly, "you can't do that tonight."

"Why not?" He pouted at me from where he was lying beside me on a bedroll of his own, trying, even as we spoke, to draw me in closely like how we occasionally slept.

Rolling my eyes, I shifted a sleepily mumbling Happy in my arms so that I wouldn't crush him when I reached up and pushed Natsu's unbearably hot arm off me. "Because it's bloody boiling here," I said to Natsu, "and I will _die _from heat exhaustion if you come anywhere near me."

Seeing the pink-haired boy begin to panic and make a fuss over my use of _die, _I quickly slapped him up the head to quiet him down. "No. No making a fuss. I'm tired and hot. That means I will bite your arm off if you try and sling it over me. Understand?"

Natsu nodded hurriedly in answer, apparently seeing my thinning patience close to snapping completely. "Okay, Luce!"

"Good," was all I said before I let my eyes droop shut and I began to drift off to dreamland.

But, of course, that wasn't possible. I couldn't just go to sleep without some fuss happening.

It was Erza's bellow of 'Lucy's innocence shall not be tarnished by two males sleeping either side of her!' and her act of trying to drag Natsu away from his bedroll and me, that then resulted in a scuffle breaking out between the two as Erza tried to claim a sleeping place beside me so that she could 'protect my innocence.'

Both Happy and I moaned unhappily at this. Why did we have to have such annoyingly loud friends?! Sighing angrily through my nose, I sat up and placed a barely conscious Happy onto the couch above my head, before turning to Gray, who was lying on his bedroll with an uncomfortable expression on his face as he realised that he wasn't going to get much sleep.

"Gray," I whispered to him, and seeing him sit up attentively, I gestured with my hands. "Push your bedroll to the far side, away from these two, and I can lie near you, so we can get some sleep."

"Won't Erza just punish me for 'destroying your innocence?'" Gray said, suspicious of me.

"Not if you sleep right next to the wall and I sleep next to you, blocking her advance," I said easily, wanting to hurry up and go to sleep. "Now move, so we can hurry up and catch shut eye."

Gray grumbled some, but obligingly stood up and dragged his bedroll to the side so that he could lie it on the floor against the wall. As he lay back down, I snatched up Happy and scurried over to him, lying close so that Erza wouldn't be able to drag Gray away and so that his usual coldness could help cool me down.

I began to drift off to a blissful cold and the sound of Natsu and Erza's fight dying out. I fell asleep completely when Natsu and Erza realised where Gray and I was – asleep now – and decided that, they too, would finally hit the hay.

Erza was the one who claimed a spot next to me, acting quickly before Natsu could do anything. And I'm pretty sure she fell asleep with a proud and victorious expression on her face.

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

Lucy, as per usual, was the first one to awaken. Her eyes snapped open before dropping down dozily, but she pushed them back up through sheer will and began to blink away the hazy clutches of sleep. Sometimes she didn't like being an early waker, but it was worth it to see the sun rise and the day start anew.

She might do it now. See the sun from an island, a different point of view.

With her mind made up, Lucy began to sit up, only to find her legs and chest snared by her comrade's limbs. Well, damn, all movements were totally stopped.

Erza was still sleeping beside her, body perfectly straight and arms folded neatly across her stomach; a picture of tranquillity. Unfortunately, Gray had sprawled out in his sleep, limbs flailed everywhere. One leg was up against the wall, while the other was slung across Lucy's upper body, restricting her movements there.

Somehow, during the night, Natsu had managed to shift his entire body off his bedroll and onto the floor. He had then proceeded to drape himself over both Erza's and Lucy's legs.

But mostly Lucy's legs.

"Damn it." Lucy's curse had no real emotion behind it as she lay there, submitting herself to the fact that she wasn't going to get out of this any time soon, and that she wasn't going to see the sunrise. She was comforted though, that she still had Happy in her arms, and she absently stroked the slumbering cat's blue fur.

The sun would rise before she could get out of here.

* * *

It was hot and humid when they found the temple, as per usual of the island.

Erza had asked Lucy and Natsu to lead her and Gray around the island to investigate any strange happenings that they may have missed. Lucy informed them that they hadn't gone to one part of the island, and Natsu began to lead them there, using his nose to sniff out where his and Lucy's scent wasn't lingering. That was where they had to go.

After an hour or so of trekking in the horrible environment of heat, they arrived in a large clearing where a large, ancient temple stood.

"Nice," Lucy commented as she surveyed the forgotten monument. "Impressive work of architecture, and it's lasted for many years by the look of it."

"Yes," said Erza, already heading for the entrance, "but does it have a clue as to why the villagers have changed so?"

Gray turned to Lucy as the quartet of mages and singular flying cat began to walk up the steps of the temple. "Didn't you say that you knew why the villagers are 'cursed?'"

"I did," agreed Lucy, stepping into the cool shadows of the temple, "but it was an astute hypothesis. I believe that there's some source of magic that is affecting the villagers, and it is situated on the island, not due to the moon."

"Can't you just sense the magic?" Gray asked.

"I sensed a strange magic here yesterday," admitted Lucy, "but I didn't want to pursue it in the dark and until we had some backup."

"How'd ya know icicle and Erza were coming?" Asked Natsu, joining in the conversation as dropped into step beside Lucy, staring around curiously at the cracked and beaten temple interior.

"Someone was going to come," Lucy shrugged, "I just knew Master would send someone to get us, not who would come. I'm just happy it was Gray and Erza."

"This is a lovely chat," interrupted Erza, "but we should be looking for clues." Her aura darkened and she sent the other three mages a hard look. **"Right?"**

"Yeah," Lucy replied, uncaring of the danger Erza possessed. "I shall check the next room over, if you don't mind." She was planning on sneaking past Lyon and his minions to go see Deliora, maybe drag Gray down with her, but Natsu beat her to it by slamming his foot down repeatedly on the crumbling ground like he did in the series.

"Oh, you idiot," Lucy managed to sigh before the ground cracked and broke beneath the Fairy Tail mages, sending them hurtling down into the depths of the temple.

There was a loud thud as the rocks hit the ground, closely followed by three of the Fairy Tail mages. Gray glowered up at Lucy who was easily floating down to them, having grabbed Happy's tail and told him to activate his Aera magic before they could hit the floor. The Ice mage shoved Natsu and Erza off him, having hit the ground first, and stood up. "Why do you always seem to skip getting hurt?"

Lucy tapped down onto the ground and thanked Happy, who only grinned and drifted lazily over to a steaming Natsu, encouraging him to get up. "Because," Lucy began, walking over to help Erza up, "my self-preservation skills are high and I don't scream and do nothing when I fall down giant holes. Does that answer your question?" She looked up at Gray when she got no immediate answer, only to find him staring in fear and shock at something over her shoulder.

Erza immediately turned around at seeing her nakama's horrified expression, and her own facial expression morphed into one of shock and mild distress. "What on Earthland is that?"

"…Deliora…" Breathed Gray, looking very shaky now.

"Deliora?" Natsu asked, shaking some rubble out of his hair as he walked up to stand with the others. "What's that? Is it edible?"

"A demon is _obviously_ not edible," Lucy spoke, her gaze calculating as she took in the large demon encased in ice. "Deliora…the Demon of Destruction."

Gray turned jerkily to face her. "You know of Deliora?"

"Yes," Lucy said simply, stepping forward to caress the cold ice. "I went up and explored the Northern Continent for a while, and I heard the stories while I was there. Deliora, one of Zeref's demons that inflicted great destruction upon the people there, years ago."

"He destroyed my home town," choked out Gray, tears coming to his eyes. "He destroyed my family, and later, my teacher…"

That was when Gray told his story. Of his whole life being destroyed by Deliora, being taken in by Ul and meeting Lyon, learning Ice Make magic, hearing of Deliora again and chasing after him, resulting in Ul and Lyon chasing after him. He finished with how Ul stopped Lyon from using Ice Shell and, instead, used it herself, encasing the demon in ice that could never melt.

"I just don't understand how it got here," gasped out Gray, trembling after his emotional story. "He shouldn't have gotten here, and how? Why?"

"I guess we'll have to find out," said Erza, eyes compassionate as she looked between Gray's depressed posture and the demon that started this whole thing. "I'm sure if we look hard enough, we'll find the people who did this."

"I suggest we start by looking upstairs," inputted Lucy. "I don't think there would be many people down here."

"We'll split up," decided Erza, "Natsu and Happy can explore down here in case someone is really here."

"I'm all fired up!" Natsu yelled in answer, lighting up his fists. "I'll take on these bastards no problem! Just line 'em up and I'll knock 'em down!"

"Aye!" Added Happy.

"That's all well," said Erza, crossing her arms over her breastplate, "but we should try and stay as quiet as possible, we don't want to alert someone to our presence if we can hear more of their information."

At Natsu's disappointed moan, Lucy patted him comfortingly on the shoulder. "Just think of it as a ninja mission. Mission: sneak attack!"

Natsu's eyes lit up and he quickly wrapped his scarf around his lower face and head, holding his hands up in his 'ninja' sign. "We shall be the sneakiest of all ninjas! Nin nin!"

"Nin nin!" Echoed Happy, copying his best friend.

"Just try not to shout too much," said Lucy, "that's very un-ninja like."

At Natsu's reverent nod, Lucy smiled at him before turning to Erza. "Shall we go in pairs?"

Erza looked over who was there and stared at Lucy curiously. "There is only three of us, I fail to see how you can have one more person to pair up with."

Lucy's hand went to her belt and she tugged a silver key out of its position in a pouch on her belt. She gave Erza a wink and twirled the key between her fingers. "I make my own partners. You can go with Gray, seeing as he's kind of out of it right now." Both Erza and Lucy looked over to where Gray was staring up at Deliora, expression crumpled and fragile like foil. "I'll head upstairs with Vulp," Lucy continued, flicking the key and calling out her spirit's name quietly, eliciting a burst of light and the appearance of the fox-girl.

"Hey, Lucy-chan!" Vulp flung her arms around Lucy, the blonde returning her hug just as happily. "Hey, Vulp."

"It's been too long," Vulp said as she pulled away from her summoner, face screwed up in a pout. "You should summon me more, even if it's just to hang out."

"Will do," Lucy chuckled. "But I have a job for you first. How long can you hold your concealing illusion? The one that makes any sounds I make and my presence disappear?"

"Thirty minutes," replied Vulp, "but you need to stop powering your magic around your body so that my illusion can settle around you. You know your constant magic output disrupts my beautiful illusions!"

"I know," Lucy laughed, "but as you do that, we'll head upstairs and I'll tell you the situation. We're doing espionage." The blonde began to lead her spirit away, waving goodbye to the others as Vulp began to fire off a volley of questions that Lucy began to answer as quickly as she could.

"Alright," said Erza as she watched Lucy and Vulp exit up a flight of stairs and Natsu and Happy go gallivanting off into the darkness of the underground chamber they were in, progress only seen by the fireball held in Natsu's hand. "Let's get moving, Gray."

The Ice mage turned to her blankly at the call of his name, but after some prompting by Erza, the boy began to gain some light and purpose to his movements. The two then raced off up the stairs that Lucy had taken moments before, but turned down a different corridor. To a different battle.

* * *

"You've got to be joking," Lucy drawled to Vulp as the two (invisibly of course) watched Sherry talk about the entirety of Lyon's plans to the dozing form of her rat, Angelica. "Is this girl for real?"

"She _is _a bit foolish for stating her plans out loud for anyone to listen," agreed Vulp from beside Lucy. "I mean, we could hear her voice from inside the temple, and she was two levels above us!"

"And apparently awaiting night to continue using the Moon Drip," Lucy remarked as she studied the giant alter that was for the Moon Drip to go funnel straight down to Deliora. "Reckon we should attack now, or later?"

"Now is a good enough time as ever," Vulp said with a shrug, "but I'm not really a combat-based spirit, Lucy-chan, so it might be best to send me back."

"You sure, Vulp?" Lucy asked as she studied the fox-girl's expression, able to see her features due to the fact that she was under the same spell as Vulp and were linked.

"Yep!" Vulp nodded happily, "summon out Cenas! He wants to fight _big time!_"

Lucy looked puzzled at this comment. "Why?"

"Because he 'failed' to protect you from that shadow dude," replied Vulp, her expression making it clear that she found the centaur's thoughts ridiculous. "He wants another chance to protect you."

"Fine," sighed Lucy, already fishing for Cenas's key, "I'll call him out."

"Cool then!" Vulp gave Lucy a quick peck on the forehead before waving and disappearing in a flash, Lucy's invisibility going with her.

"Intruder!" Shrieked Sherry upon catching sight of the now visible Lucy, who had been standing in front of her, invisibly, for the past ten minutes.

Lucy gave her a cheery wave, "hello there! My name's Lucy, you're Sherry, and that's your precious rat Angelica. I'm also here to kick your ass!"

"A smart alec, huh?" Sherry scoffed, composing herself after the sudden appearance of Lucy. "Well, you people don't have enough _love _in your life to defeat a person like me!"

"And you're someone filled with love, I bet," Lucy said dryly as she pulled out Cenas''s key. "But that doesn't really matter, I'm here to kick your ass and stop your plans with the Moon Drip and Deliora, then I'll continue on my way, with my smart alec tendencies and my lack of love." She sent a sweet smile towards a scowling Sherry. "If that's alright with you, lovey."

"You're an annoyance," howled Sherry, drawing up her magical power. "I'll show you!" She pushed her magic into the ground and it phased into a nearby mound of rocks, pulling it up into the awkward shape of a golem. "Rock doll!"

"Cenas!" Lucy called in answer, her centaur spirit appearing with a determined look on his face. "I won't fail you again, Lucy-chan!"

"Don't worry about it," replied Lucy, drawing her sword so that she could step up beside him. "Let's just do what we do best…"

"Defeat the bad guys," finished Cenas before he charged forwards beside his summoner, drawing his bow. "Let's go!"

* * *

Studying the two curious people before Erza, she labelled them weak and not worth it. She had to go and find Gray after the man in the mask separated him from her. "I don't have time for you two," her voice rang out across the corridor to her two opponents. "I shall defeat you swiftly and catch up to my companion."

"We'll see," snickered Yuka, standing at the ready beside Toby.

"Aro," growled Toby in agreement.

* * *

"Natsu!" Yelled out Happy to his friend. "Are you okay?!"

The Dragon slayer pulled himself out of the rubble that used to be a wall to give his partner a thumbs up. "Yeah, I'm good, buddy!"

"You won't be for long!" Zalty cackled, summoning his pale orb to float up beside him threateningly. "I'll destroy you now so that the Cold Emperor's plans may go ahead! Prepare yourself, Natsu Dragneel!"

* * *

"_Lyon!" _Gasped out Gray, eyes wide at seeing his old friend. "What're you doing here?" He had attacked the masked man that had appeared alongside the other two weirdos when he was running down a corridor with Erza, but had found the male dodging his attacks with ease. Without realising it, the masked man, addressed by Toby and Yuka as Reitei, had separated him from Erza and lead him down several corridors, to the large room they were in now. Only a throne upon a small flight of stairs was the only thing worth acknowledging in the room, either than the large size.

"Foolish Gray," scoffed Lyon as he picked up the helmet Gray had knocked off in his initial attack. "I'm here to resurrect Deliora of course."

* * *

**IJGIwjefmjfjokfmn!**

**What the heck was that crap? Okay, it was a bit tacky and there was a lot of Gray and Lucy dialogue in there, but I thought; 'hey, Lucy (or rather, Tia) would be good friends with Gray since they act a lot alike! I should make them chat a bit and get closer, as they're the only two sane ones in their team and they will eventually take refuge with each other from Natsu's idiocy and Erza's scary and crazy antics.'**

**But just to clarify…NO GRAYLU OR ANY SHIT LIKE THAT! JUST FRIENDS! F-R-I-E-N-D-S! FRIENDS! CAPISHE?**

**Okay, cool, now that's out of the way…**

**Ciao. **


	15. Freeing Ice

**Hello my lovelies! This is probably the final chapter for a while, but that's only because I'm going back to school soon and we all know how much school sucks and eats away at our time!**

**This has more of a comedic feel to it because a. I can and b. who wouldn't love to see the sight of Natsu being flung up and down? I would!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_I seem to be sitting on a bed typing on a dinky laptop, not in some super fancy studio drawing up works of art. So, I don't own FT…_

**Warning: **_Language and FIGHTING! RAWR!_

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

Cenas started the fight by shooting an arrow right at Sherry, making her shriek and dive out of the way. Evidently she wasn't used to close-combat, her magic being long-distance.

"You take Sherry," Lucy said to her spirit, already heading towards the large rock golem that Sherry was making run towards her. "You'll be much better at hitting her; and I will take the big, bad boulder."

"On it, Lucy-chan!" Replied Cenas, already notching another arrow as he cantered in a wide arc to get to the back of Sherry. There, he began to fire more arrows at her, making her screech in indignation and dance out of the way, her rock golem suffering mobility from her lack of attention. Lucy took full advantage of the golem's momentary weakness and powered magic to her legs as she jumped up and angled her body to do a duel kick to the misshapen, moving pile of rock's centre. The golem made an unhappy rumbling sound before slowly tilting back and hitting the ground, shattering into dozens of pieces.

"My doll!" Wailed Sherry, "how dare you destroy him! Well," the girl tried to compose herself, narrowly missing another of Cenas's arrows, "I guess I'll have to show you _love _by making another one!"

"Oh yes," drawled Lucy, slinging her sword over her shoulder at a jaunty angle, "please show me the errors of my _loveless _life."

"Kinky," sniggered Cenas, breaking the standoffish mood.

Lucy flinched momentarily and stammered out a protest before deciding that Cenas was a lost cause and that Sherry was now distracted by also yelling at the slightly perverted spirit. Thinking quickly, Lucy sheathed her sword and bounded forwards to engage Sherry in hand-to-hand combat, since she was distracted and weak physically, it seemed.

But Sherry would have none of it and showed great mastery in her magic by creating a Wood doll in a matter of seconds to block the blonde. "Attack my beloved doll!"

The Wood doll roared and slammed his arm down to the surprised blonde, who was now realising that she had severely underestimated her opponent. In the series, Sherry had seemed more of a comic relief than anything, but it seemed that the girl was rather strong with her magic and wasn't afraid to use it. So, being taken off guard by the sudden appearance of the Wood doll and its attack, Lucy could only raise an arm up to block the tree limb that came swinging down on her.

"Hah! I showed that _loveless_ girl!" Cackled Sherry, fingers pausing their twitching so that the Wood golem would stop moving. "Now the Cold Emperor's plans will go on as planned!"

"I wouldn't be so sure," stated Cenas, eyes amused. "Lucy-chan's a pretty surprising gal, so I'm betting she's going to surprise us now…oh, look, here's your surprise. Right on time."

Before Sherry could react, her Wood dolls feet were cut out from underneath it and it toppled to the side, revealing a crouching Lucy who had one trembling arm raised over her head and one out to the side, grasping a sword tightly.

"How?!" Pleaded Sherry, confused as to why the girl wasn't crushed into the ground like all her other foes. "How are you _alive?!_"

Simple," said Lucy as she stood up out of a small depression in the ground, shaking out her sore left arm. "I poured all of my magic into my left arm and legs so that they was strong enough to ward off your golems attack, and then I slashed its feet from underneath it with my sword." Lucy tossed her sword in her hands before looking up at Sherry with a smirk on her face. "Simple."

Sherry snarled down at the cocky blonde, attractive face twisting as she did so. "Well, it won't be so simple when your _friend _here is attacking you. A Celestial spirit, correct?" The pink-haired girl's face was triumphant as she smiled down at an angry Lucy. "I guess I'll make him my own since you so rudely destroyed my beloved dolls."

"Cenas!" Shouted out Lucy. "Return to the Spirit world no-!"

"Too late," sung out Sherry.

Abruptly, Cenas turned from where he was watching Sherry with amusement, towards Lucy, confusion clouding his dark face. "W-what's going on?!"

"She's controlling you," snarled out Lucy, glaring up at Sherry. "How _dare _you take one of my friend's from me!"

"Ah," Sherry sighed as she moved Cenas towards Lucy, making him draw his bow as he went. "Isn't the pain of _love_ strong? It aches and burns, but it is still _love_, and we all need _love!"_

"I can fucking _hear _the italics every time she mentions love," Lucy mumbled to herself. "I agree that we all need love," the blonde bit out as she studied the slowly advancing Cenas, _"but your love_ _is_ _seriously fucked up!"_

Sherry scowled at the rude blonde who had dared to insult _love! _"I'm bored of you now, Lucy wasn't it? Well, your name doesn't matter when _love_ takes you over!" Sherry made Cenas dash forwards, cutting off any protests that Lucy was going to speak. "Say goodbye, Lucy."

"Fuck," Lucy growled out, dodging one of Cenas's arrows before catching another one that nearly hit her shoulder, the friction from the wooden shaft burning the palm of her hand. "I still don't know how to force that gates closed. Damn my politeness! Damn teachers for teaching me ethics and manners!" The blonde continued to grumble to herself as Cenas met her with his fists, the two beginning to parry each other's hits, both reluctant to hurt the other.

"I-I'm sorry, Lucy-chan," Cenas managed to grit out as he tried to stop the powerful haymaker he was about to throw at Lucy's face.

"It's fine," panted out Lucy, managing to deflect the haymaker enough so that it just stung her cheek, rather than smashing into her cheekbone. "I know you don't want to do this, you're being controlled."

"Just close my gate," pleaded Cenas as he drew one of the small knives he kept on the sash tied around his waist, beginning to slash at Lucy as she backed up. "Force it closed!"

"You know I can't!"

"Just close it, Lucy-chan!"

"But it feels like I'm forcing you guys to do something that you don't want! I'm using my power over you to in a bad way! I'm your friend, not your master!"

"I understand your hesitance Lucy-chan, but now is not the time for politeness!"

"But if I force you home," Luce burst out passionately, grabbing Cenas's wrist so that he couldn't swing his knife at her anymore, "then I'm forcing you to leave my side! And I'm scared that if I make you leave, that you won't come back!" The blonde bit her lip as she realised what she had shouted out. "I'm sorry…"

Cenas was shocked by the revelation, but he couldn't speak or react before he was being pulled back by Sherry and made to shoot at Lucy after he sheathed his knife.

Scowling, Lucy continued to dodge Cenas's arrows, all the while trying to come up with a battle plan against Sherry. Could Lucy simply stab Cenas and go for Sherry? No. Definitely not. She could never do that to one of her friends, even if they could recover in the Spirit world. What about Sherry herself; what were her weaknesses? Weaknesses…weaknesses…

A sudden thought hit Lucy right in the face, and Lucy was sorely tempted to hit herself for not noticing such blatant fact earlier.

_Why wasn't Sherry simply making a Wood or Rock doll to smash Lucy while she was busy fighting off Cenas?_

It was so simply that Lucy could've cried – if she wasn't busy dodging arrows and in public. Sherry didn't have the magic, nor the multi-tasking skills to hold two 'dolls.' Cenas was fighting valiantly against Sherry and all of her attention would be towards keeping him under control.

Well, it was lucky then, that Lucy could summon two spirits.

'Virgo!' Lucy mentally screamed out, hand brushing her keys as she flipped over a charge by Cenas. 'I need you to appear under Sherry, the pink-haired chick, and dig a pitfall to make her fall into! Could you do that for me?'

It was the vague chime that Lucy heard in her head that was the answer. Moments later, Sherry let out a shriek as the ground fell in underneath her, dragging her in and snapping her spell on Cenas. "What is this?!"

Virgo tunnelled up from the ground beside the giant hole, bowing to Lucy. "Punishment, Mistress?"

"No," sighed Lucy, stopping her acrobatic flips since Cenas was now released, "no punishment. You did good."

"Is there anything else you need, Mistress?" Asked Virgo stoically.

"You're good to go home, Virgo," answered Lucy, "there is no need for you to stay here any longer. Thank you very much for answering my call and coming to my aid."

Virgo bowed in answer and disappeared.

"Oh, Lucy-chan," Cenas started, "I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright, Cenas," said Lucy softly, "you did nothing wrong. It's my fault for not realising that she could, and would, control you. I beg your pardon."

Cenas cracked a small, relieved smile, before stepping forwards to envelop Lucy in a hug. "We're not going to leave you, Lucy-chan. Not now, not ever. You're our summoner, and our greatest friend. There is no way that we would _ever_ leave you behind, so don't think differently for a second!"

A wide smile appeared on Lucy's face as she returned the heartfelt gesture, revelling in the comfort and warmth of one of her greatest friends. "I know, Cenas. I trust you with my life, so I should trust you with my heart."

"Damn right you should."

* * *

"Will you tell me where your _leader _is now?" Erza cranked her arm up a bit, eliciting a whimper from the person's whose leg she was holding. "I-I swear I don't know where Lyon could be!"

"Oh," said Erza softly, scaring Toby more than her shouts ever could. "So he's Lyon now, rather than Reitei. What is his _real name?_"

"Lyon! Lyon!" Toby howled, terrified of the beautiful scarlet woman yanking his leg further up his back than it was now. "His real name is Lyon!"

"Excellent," Erza said primly, dropping Toby's leg – much to the relief of the dog-boy – and dusting her hands off. "I shall go search for this Lyon now, since you have no more information for me." Erza glared at Toby's sniffling form at her feet. **"Right?"**

"Y-yes!" Toby choked out, "please don't hurt me anymore!"

"Foolish," Erza scoffed, "that was a mere stretch of the legs. I did not cause you any pain."

Toby wisely stayed silent and let the redhead stalk away from the trashed corridor that he and an unconscious Yuka lay in. "She is terrifying…"

"What was that?!"

"NOTHING!"

* * *

"Do you like my magic?" Zalty asked coyly as he continued to destroy and repair the ceiling that Natsu was under, making the rubble knock the boy to the ground before letting it go back up and fix itself back into a complete ceiling. He then dropped the ceiling again and smashed the barely recovering Natsu into the ground again. Then he fixed the ceiling again. Then dropped it. Up and down. Up and down. Up. Down. Up. Down. Destroyed. Not destroyed. Rubble. Complete ceiling. Up. Down.

Natsu was beginning to get woozy from the amount of times the ceiling was going down on him, smashing him into the unforgiving ground; when the ceiling was being fixed, he only got to his knees before the ceiling came down upon him again.

The boy finally snapped after a few minutes of the repeated action, Zalty's cackles angering him enough that he let out a roar – a burst of dragon roar, mind you, as well as an angry one – and blasted the ceiling that was dropping down on him into pieces.

"Hah!" Natsu grinned victoriously up at the tower of stone that Zalty was perched on. "I beat ya stupid rocks!" He kicked at the collected rumble about him, feeling mightily pleased.

"Did you?" Zalty raised one eyebrow and raised his hand up.

Natsu was about to shout out _that he bloody well did! Couldn't you see the rubble?! Are you blind?! _When the rubble around him began to form into a ceiling once more and rise up to join its brethren in the sky; taking Natsu with it.

"Ugh," as he noticed the rumbling movement of the block of stone he was on, Natsu had to bite back a hurl, slumping bonelessly as he did.

Zalty noticed his opponent's disposition. "Oh, so you don't like moving objects. Well, you _certainly _won't like this!" The masked man cackled as he made the platform of stone begin to crumble and then join back up again, the whole thing jerking up and down as he switched between the two endlessly.

"Natsu!" Happy wailed from the ground, having timed out with his Aera magic a minute or two ago, having flown Natsu around the chamber to dodge the crystal ball that Zalty had made to follow them.

"H-happy…" Natsu squeaked out, body trembling in his sickness. "H-help m-me…"

The cat moaned as he had no clue how to get Natsu off this thing; his wings were gone and there was no way he could stop Zalty from using his magic; since Natsu was having trouble, the guy must be crazy strong!

What was a cat to do?!

"Erza!" Happy suddenly shouted, "I'll get Erza! Don't worry Natsu, I'll get Erza to come here and beat this guy for you!"

Natsu wanted to protest that he could finish this guy off on his own, but he was too busy trying to hold in whatever fluids were in his stomach at the moment – damn those eggs and toast that Lucy had cooked over a fire this morning.

Taking Natsu's burble as an answer, Happy set off at a pace – as fast as a cat with stumpy legs can – towards the archway that led up a flight of stairs where all the other Fairy Tail mages had gone; but Zalty wasn't going to have that.

"Now, kitty-cat," the man purred, "we can't have you leaving quite yet. The fun is only _just _beginning."

Happy yowled when the floor began to disintegrate beneath him, hopping from crumbling stone, to chunks of trembling rock to make his way to the doorway.

"Determined little fellow, aren't you," murmured Zalty eyes trained on Happy even as he sped up the rate Natsu was going up and down. "But I'll let you go this time – let's see the great Titania in action, shall we?"

Happy suddenly found that parts of the ground were still solid and began to follow it quickly, not noticing that Zalty was casually flicking a finger to rewind time every moment that Happy placed a foot down, saving the cat's life more than once.

* * *

"I'm going to beat you into the ground for _daring _to even _think _about resurrecting Deliora," growled out Gray, making an Ice cannon and firing off several rounds at a smirking Lyon.

"You're still an idiot, Gray," sighed the older male, using one hand to make an twisting Ice dragon that leapt in the way to intercept the masses of ice. "If you think that you can beat _me _while you use two hands in moulding your ice…you're sorely mistaken."

"But that's how Ul taught us!" Protested Gray venomously. "You can't just disrespect Ul's teachings like that!"

"Using two hands shows you're incompetent," said Lyon coolly, reflecting his magic style in his manner of speaking. "I have surpassed Ul by using only one of my hands to mould my Ice magic!" To demonstrate this, Lyon pushed one hand out to create an Ice tiger that prowled towards Gray, determined to stalk its prey into the corner of the large stony chamber they were located in.

"Ice make: cage!" Gray responded to the big cats advance, forming a large cage around it to keep it trapped in the middle of the room.

"Please," scoffed Lyon, "my tiger will easily break through your flimsy cage, created by your unskilled hands." The steely-haired mage waited expectantly for Gray's cage to break when his tiger rammed its body against it, but was surprised that when ice fell, it was of his own creation.

"H-how?" The mage stammered, looking aghast. "How is this possible! _My _moulding magic is mastered to a greater than Ul's! _How can_ _your measly creation defeat __**mine!"**_

"It's easy," replied Gray with a smirk, "using only one hand makes your creations unstable and easily broken. Ul's way was the correct way, and the only way you should mould your magic!" Thrusting his hands back, Gray powered his hands up before thrusting them forwards calling out as he created several lances made of ice to pierce through Lyon.

Then began a fierce battle of moulding magic; Gray creating inanimate objects to slice or shoot at Lyon, and Lyon creating creatures of frozen snow to attack Gray and intercept his attacks. The two continued for minutes, each one arguing against the resurrection of Deliora and Ul's point of view on moulding magic.

It was only when one of Lyon's Ice tigers managed to snick Gray on the side, making red bloom across his pale skin, that the fight drew to a stop.

"I am more superior!" Lyon crowed triumphantly. "I shall be the one that surpasses Ul! I will resurrect Deliora and prove myself the greatest Ice mage!"

"You're fucking insane!" Gray bellowed back, eyes sharp with pain and anger. "Why are you so fixated on defeating Ul?! And why the hell would you resurrect Deliora to prove yourself the best Ice mage?! I doesn't making any sense!"

**(A/N: **_**So **_**tempted to make Lyon sassy by writing 'your face doesn't make sense,' or something, but that would be totally OOC; even if it'd be funny. Sorry for interrupting your reading, carry on.)**

"I don't need to explain anything to you," sneered Lyon, "you just need to know that tonight is the last night that we need to perform the Moon drip ritual, and then Deliora will be resurrected! There's only an hour or so 'til sundown," Lyon's eyes held maniacal gleam, "and then the moon will rise, alongside Deliora!"

"You're definitely crazy," spat out Gray, "I'll stop you before you even _think _about completing the ritual!"

Lyon actually laughed at that, sounding surprised and amused. "Oh, _I_ don't need to do the ritual, we only need one person to perform the ritual to enact it. It is at less power than if there is more people joining in, but only one of my sycophants needs to do the ritual; you see, Gray?"

Gray scowled at this, but his expression quickly cleared up not shortly after, startling Lyon. "What is with that look, Gray?"

The younger Ice mage chuckled. "You may have your _minions_, Lyon, but I have my friends." He grinned at the angered Lyon, hands clutching at his bleeding side. "And they'll help me and the people of this island. So, it's safe to say, _you're screwed."_

"He's right," said a new voice, footsteps barely heard from one of the corridors leading out of the chamber. "He's got friends, and these friends have already fucked up your minions."

* * *

Zalty was taking great joy in knocking Natsu off his feet every time he tried to crawl his way off the elevating and falling chunk of ceiling with his crystal ball when, out of nowhere, a sword swung by, narrowly missing him and cutting off pieces of his spiky, green hair.

The masked man's concentration on Natsu was broken and the ceiling fell to the floor, shattering into chunks, and then further breaking apart when Natsu smashed through the pieces as he stood up. "All right! I'm free!" He turned a fiery gaze towards Zalty, who was starting to look nervous at the fact that he was pinned between an energetic Natsu and a severely angry Erza who had entered the underground area just moments before, alongside Happy. "I'm all fired up now!"

"So, that Moon drop plan of yours has fallen to shit already, Lyon." Lucy smirked at a flabbergasted Lyon as she stepped out of the shadows. "Such a shame, isn't it?"

Zalty began to panic slightly as Erza and Natsu pressed onwards to him, through the crumbling ceiling and the orbs he threw at them, their expressions determined and dark.

* * *

"What are you going to do, now that we're joining back together and defeating your cronies, hm?" Lucy's expression was genuinely curious as she advanced forwards to stand proudly beside Gray, his expression shocked as he looked at her – standing beside him, providing support and comradeship.

Swords swung and slammed into walls as Erza threw her arsenal around, dancing delicately between Natsu's own bursts of flames; the two weaving together in an intricate display that took years of practise – but came to them like breathing; naturally. It dazzled Zalty as he tried to keep up; his magic was powerful and rare, but didn't stand against compassion and determination – something that Fairy Tail mages like Erza and Natsu had in spades.

It wasn't long until a flaming fist caught Zalty by surprise, bursting stars of pain behind his eyes as he was launched through the torchlight, arms reaching up to grasp his mask as he felt the cracks in his mask and façade chipping away.

Scrabbling to hold his façade together, Zalty stood up, planning to make his get away, but he shortly found out that Fairy Tail mages don't let people go so easily.

"No!" Lyon bellowed angrily, "it won't end here! Not when I'm so close to beating Ul! Not when I can pass her by!"

"Do you really think Ul taught you all those years so that you could become…_this?" _Lucy spoke with no malice, only disappointment and sympathy that bit at Lyon. "Shut up! What would you know?!"

"She doesn't know about Ul," Gray added in, regaining his spirit with his friend beside him, overcoming the shock and anger that Lyon's appearance and words had bestowed in him, determination replacing it. "But she knows enough about respecting her teachings and her friends to surpass you, Lyon."

Gray thought back to all the times he had seen Lucy with her spirits, completely at ease with them as they chatted, and looking happy whenever they taught her new things; whether it be Lyra showing her a new song on the lyre, or Aquarius coaching her on how to find a suitable male. "Unlike you, Lucy – and the rest of Fairy Tail – respect each other and don't hold onto past grudges, because they'll just taint your life and make everything be seen in shades of grey; you need to see the true colours of the world, Lyon, because they're more amazing then you could believe."

Lyon merely sneered at him, clearly unimpressed. "Have you been taking poetry lessons, Gray, because that sounded _weak_, even for you."

"Just because you're some prick who has no emotions," said Lucy coldly, "doesn't mean you should place that same way of life onto other people. Sherry, Toby and Yuka are good people, and they trusted you, and loved you so much that they followed you out of Lamia Scale just to be by your side. If you have such good friends by you, Lyon," Lucy said slowly, "why do you still pursue something behind you?"

* * *

Erza stood over the weakly moving Zalty, Natsu having hit him down once again with a wing attack. Holding a sword firmly in one hand as she ex-quipped back into her default breastplate and skirt, Erza bent down and removed the mask. The façade came along with it.

The game was up.

* * *

"I don't need to explain anything to you!" Lyon snarled at Gray and Lucy, patience non-existent now. "Even if you did defeat Sherry, there's still Toby and Yuka!"

"I found those two passed out in the corridor back there," Lucy said casually, thumbing back towards where she came from. "Erza probably finished them easily, they seemed pretty weak to me – especially when Toby began to snivel at hearing my footsteps wailing something about red-haired demons."

Lyon spluttered at the fact that three of his most faithful companions had been defeated so easily. "But there's still Zalty! He's far more powerful than any of them! There's no way he can be defeated, so he'll just finish off the Moon drip ritual and-!"

"I don't think that your companions name is _Zalty_." Erza appeared out of the shadows, accompanied by Natsu, Happy and an unconscious Zalty over her shoulders. "You should check your companion's backgrounds before you hire them." Erza tossed Zalty onto the floor in between the reunited Fairy Tail mages and Lyon, revealing a beautiful, young and fair woman, pale eyelids closed and ruby red lips pursed in her unconsciousness.

"Z-zalty?" Choked out Lyon, recognising the clothes that she was wearing, reminiscent to the man that he had seen mere hours before. "Who is this?!"

'She looks like Ul…' Was the thought running rampart through Gray's mind, and a mere flicker passed through Lyon's thoughts before he quashed it, like he had done with every memory of his mentor, either than her strength that he wanted to pass.

"Ultear," Lucy stated suddenly, startling the collected people as she knelt down to gaze closely at the unconscious woman on the floor. "Her name is Ultear."

"How do you know this?" Erza demanded, not completely able to ignore the traitorous thoughts that Lucy could be in league with the woman, since she obviously knew her.

"I needed a way to get money on the road," Lucy began to explain as she brushed light fingers across Ultear's neck, checking for a pulse. "So I often did jobs for the Magic Council, bringing in dark mages for them and breaking up the beginnings of dark guilds."

Erza relaxed at that statement; Lucy had done something that was rare, but not completely unheard of for roving mages. The Magic Council occasionally needed the help of mages, and they often asked roving mages that they trusted to help out, being able to pay them handsomely for their help and the assurance of future help and providence of information they needed. The Council could've gone to proper guilds, but found most lacking in abilities that only roving mages seemed to have; stealth, street smarts (and reservations in destroying property as many remarked).

"You work with the Magic Council!" Shrieked Natsu, looking mightily scared of Lucy now. "Please don't tell them about the house I burnt down last week! Or incident with that Fisherman; because it wasn't me, I swear!"

Lucy snorted out some laughter before shaking her head ruefully and continuing with her explanation. "Ultear is part of said Magic Council," the blonde stated, eliciting gasps from the people around her, "and one of the few I had acquaintance with outside of reports I brought in, alongside dark mages. She was…not a friend, per see, but a close acquaintance."

Kneeling beside the blonde, Erza placed a comforting hand on Lucy's shoulder, knowing exactly how it felt to have someone betray you like that. Zalty (now known as Ultear) had told both Natsu and her that (s)he was simply using Lyon, and was planning to use Deliora for her own gain and power. Ultear had backstabbed many people, it seemed. "I'm sorry, Lucy."

Gray looked solemn and thoughtful as he stood closely to a shocked Lyon, ready to knock him unconscious if he tried to make a break for it. A brief thought of using Iced Shell crossed his mind again, but Gray pushed the thought away angrily. He had thought of using that attack against Lyon if he couldn't stop him, but the arrival of Lucy meant he wouldn't have to, and he realised that using that attack would've left his friends feeling as empty as when Ul had used it before his very eyes. 'I'm not going to subject my friends to that kind of betrayal, not like this…Ultear.'

"Oh," the blonde started, looking faintly surprised, "don't be. I've been suspecting Ultear of strange activities for months now. Isn't that right, Ultear?" Lucy directed the last bit at Ultear, pinching the woman's delicate skin around the neck, hitting a pressure point that kicked up the woman's adrenaline, rather than making her lose consciousness, like another part of the neck that you could pinch.

Before anyone could question Lucy's actions, there was a dazzle and a sudden influx of cold air. Everyone covered their eyes as a sudden blizzard cut across their faces and stung their closed eyelids, raising their arms up to try and guard against the element. Several sounds of scraping and clanging met their ears, but it soon died out, just like the blizzard.

Gray opened his eyes to find snow covering the ground and a panting Lucy in a different position from before, sword clasped tightly in her hands and gaze locked towards one of the corridors as chunks of ice fell to the ground at her feet, having chipped off a winding display of ice roses.

"She got away" spat Lucy, but didn't look exactly that angry or surprised. "I should've realised someone as powerful as her would have powerful magic, and another to back that up."

"What happened?" Happy asked anxiously, having taken refuge behind Natsu. "Where's Ultear?"

"She got away," Lucy repeated, "she was pretending to be unconscious the whole time, so that she could get away easily when we dropped our guards."

"How did you know that she was awake then?" Asked Lyon, now participating in the event.

Lucy sheathed her sword. "I felt her pulse and found it beating way too fast for her to be unconscious. She played it well, but I know the human body good enough to know when someone's faking it."

"Remind me to never fake sleep around her," Natsu whispered to Happy, who nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "Aye!"

"It seems that she has Ice magic, as well as the odd one she used on Natsu and I," remarked Erza, staring around at the ice littering the floor, and the last remnants of an ice rose and its accompanying thorny vines. "When we return home, we shall inform the Magic Council of this betrayal, along with what has happened here." She turned sharply to glare at Lyon. "I hope that you will not cause a fuss with ending this mess and coming to terms with your mistakes."

Lyon began to protest. "But…Ul and surpassing her…!"

"**Right?"**

Lyon shrunk back at Erza's killer glare. "No, ma'am!"

"So we've almost resolved everything," drawled Gray, "except for the fact that the villagers are freaking demon monsters. Lyon and the others have been here for years, but they haven't changed – so it's not the Moon drip."

"What could it be, then?" Hummed Happy, trying to look like he was thinking hard about it, but was really wondering if he could get any more delicious fish from the villagers if he asked.

"Oh," said Lucy flippantly, kicking around in the ice chunks left while she ran her fingers over Ultear's razor sharp thorns, "I've already solved that." And before anyone could ask how it could _possibly _be resolved, the blonde was continuing on. "Besides, the part that isn't resolved is Lyon's complex about not being able to live up to Ul's reputation."

"W-wha-?!" Lyon spluttered. "What the hell do you mean by that?!"

"It's lucky I've got the solution for that as well, then," Lucy remarked as she darted forwards and latched onto Lyon's wrist, beginning to drag the surprised mage towards the corridor that she had come from. "We need to wake up Toby and Yuka – I'm pretty sure Sherry would've escaped the ropes that I put her in by now, so she's probably already nearly started – but the moon's already rising since we wasted a few hours searching for this temple, and then some more fighting, chatting, and being betrayed by people. So, onwards we go!"

The blonde seemed unnaturally chipper as she dragged Lyon down the corridor towards where a fallen and cowering Toby and Yuka lay, having the audacity to whistle cheerfully as her guildmates scrambled to catch up with her and whatever she was about to do.

* * *

"You want to do **WHAT?!" **Bellowed everyone, staring at Lucy as if she was mad. They were standing beside the altar where the Moon drip ritual was performed; they being the Fairy Tail mages, Lyon, Toby, a now awake Yuka, and Sherry – who had to _actually _be untied from the ropes that Lucy had bound her with, glaring at Lucy all the while the blonde was untying the double knots she had used.

"I said," Lucy replied calmly, "we need to do the Moon drip ritual to revive Deliora, so that Lyon and Gray may accept their pasts and get over Ul's death."

"I don't need to get over Ul's death," Gray snapped, echoed by Lyon. "And do you want a bloody _demon _roaming around here! It'll be just like Lullaby, and you know how _that ended." _Gray instantly regretted bringing up Max's death, and obviously Erza wasn't happy with him either, judging by her expression.

"This is different to Lullaby," said Lucy, sounding colder than before, her expression completely blank. "Deliora has been encased in Ul's ice for over ten years, and Iced Shell takes in whoever's power that it has encased, weakening it more the longer it has been activated."

"How do you know this?" Asked Lyon warily, suspicious of the blonde who seemed to know so much.

"Because I went to the Northern parts of Fiore," answered Lucy, "and while I was there, I stumbled across a little cabin in the snowy mountain range." Both Gray's and Lyon's eyes widened with understanding as Lucy continued. "There, I found books on Ice magic and how to master it, along with other objects…" Lucy's gaze was soft as she looked upon Gray and Lyon, "I'll give them to you when we get home, okay? They're safe in the Spirit world, where no one can touch them."

Everyone pretended not to hear the choked sound that came from Lyon. Sherry patted his arm soothingly, standing close to her beloved leader, Toby and Yuka flanking her as she did so.

"But we really don't need to resurrect Deliora," Lucy continued, "if you simply land a solid hit, I'm sure that the demon would just shatter into dozens of pieces…"

"I want to face it," Gray spoke up suddenly, "I want to face the demon that took Ul from me." He looked over to Lyon, who gazed back with determination beginning to flicker into life behind his glassy eyes of sadness. "From us."

At Lyon's nod of approval, Toby, Yuka and Sherry sprang into life, taking up positions around the altar as the moon began to rise, casting a ghostly glow over the island with its purple surface.

"Are you sure about this, Lucy?" Erza asked the blonde as she watched over the proceedings, expression uncertain and hard in the moons glow. "What if Deliora comes back at full strength? We should not risk such things if such a beast can come back into the world! We shou-"

"Erza," Lucy said softly, using the woman's name without the usual amount of stiffness she normally said it with, "I'm not going to ask you to trust me; because trust is something that needs to be built up, and we have not known each other long enough for such things. But, I want you to know that I trust in everyone's abilities to take down Deliora if things go sour." Lucy looked over the ex-Lamia Scale members enacting the Moon drip ritual, Gray and Lyon standing by at the ready, and Natsu not too far behind them with Happy by his side. "And if that isn't enough, then look at Gray and Lyon; they need this, they need this to move on and face the future."

Erza stared at Gray's resolute expression and noted that she had never seen such fire in his gaze before. "I…I understand."

"Good," Lucy said firmly, "because you would have no more time to understand; the ritual is nearly finished."

There was a loud roar in answer, and everyone paused as the ground began to shake; Deliora was awake.

**(A/N: LOOK WHAT I DID THERE! COMPLETEY UNINTENTIONAL! You may continue…)**

"Are you ready, Lyon?" Gray addressed Lyon as he stood at the ready. His magic wasn't at full strength, but he believed in Lucy's assurance that Deliora would be weak from Ul's ice sapping away its strength over the years.

"Ready as I'll ever be," came the reply from Lyon as Deliora clawed its way to the surface, the monster frightening in its girth and imposing features. "Let's go!" The two dashed forwards to engage the now standing up monster in combat, both creating an icy sword in their hands as they went.

With a burst of speed, the two leapt up and met Deliora head on, slashing down at the muzzle of the monster, cutting through icy flesh that cracked and broke with the attack. Landing, the two Ice mages turned, anticipating Deliora's counter-attack, but found themselves staring up at the slowly crumbling Deliora.

"Ul really did defeat Deliora all those years ago," breathed out Lyon as he stared up at the sight of Deliora raining down in pieces.

"Yeah…" replied Gray, "Lucy was right; Ul's Iced Shell took all of Deliora's strength. So much that it shattered upon impact, just like she said."

"You should know by now, Gray," said girl spoke up as she stood beside him, "that I'm always right." She offered up a small smile at Gray that was hesitantly returned. Lucy then turned to Lyon and placed a cool hand on his arm, startling him out of his thoughts. "Yes?"

"Are you okay now?" Lucy asked carefully, studying Lyon's sharp facial features for something, as if it was hiding from her in his eyes and twisted mouth.

"Y-yeah," Lyon returned cautiously, "I think so, thanks."

Lucy merely smiled.

After a moment of silence, Lucy turned away to leave the two alone with their thoughts, barely hearing the murmur of thanks from Gray as she went.

"You deserved it," she offered in return before heading past the ex-Lamia Scale members who were watching over Lyon, to stand before a contemplative Natsu. "Hey, I need a favour."

"What?" Natsu asked the girl, eyes curious as he looked at the girl he hadn't seen in the past hour or so. "What do ya need me to do?"

"I want you to melt the ice," Lucy said firmly, expression serious. "I want you to _melt _it though, not explode it, okay?"

"Why?" Natsu was baffled at the random request. "Why the hell would I do that?"

Lucy looked across to where several of the chunks of ice from Deliora were sliding down a slope towards a drop that fell into the ocean. Natsu found himself following her gaze. "You want it to go into the ocean, or something?"

"Yes please," Lucy said shortly, "for Ul to be set free."

Natsu didn't really get it, but he had trusted Lucy so far today and she hadn't steered him wrong once, so he walked over in front of Lyon and Gray to begin melting the ice. The two protested at the start, but when Lucy explained, they submitted, and actually began carrying some pieces to the edge of the cliff and sending them off with a solemn look on their faces as they said goodbye to their beloved mentor.

Soon, everyone joined in. And soon, all of the ice was in the ocean, where it could be free in the currents of the endless blue.

Where Ul could be free.

* * *

It was a time of celebration in the small village of Galuna island. Just a few moments ago, Lucy had asked Erza to re-quip into her Giant's Armour and throw a lance at the moon, using a fiery fist courtesy of Natsu to push it further. Erza, having figured out what had happened to the village, did as she was told and threw the lance that was boosted by Natsu's magic, making it soar up into the sky and hit the moon and cracking it. But rather than the moon breaking, a large dome of purple had shattered, extending around the island.

After some explaining, Lucy and Erza had revealed that the vapours of the Moon drip had formed a dome around the island and the dome itself had muddled up the villager's memories; they really were demons!

So, it was with great happiness that the villager's remembered their past. And this moment was made even sweeter by the appearance of Bobo, Moka's 'dead' son, who had recovered his memory long before and had left, in fear that if he tried to convince the muddled villagers of the truth, they would turn on him.

Shortly after, the festivities began; Fairy Tail gladly joined in on the celebration, dragging in the forgiven ex-Lamia Scale mages, who were reconsidering their disposition as guildless mages, and returning back to Lamia Scale.

Natsu happily ate away most of the banquet that the villagers set out, joined by Happy and Toby, who, Natsu found, was not a bad guy to talk to. Erza talked with Moka about the village and its culture, content with having finished the mission. Yuka was surrounded by intrigued female villagers who wanted to know more about the outside world – something that he was very happy to do. Gray and Lyon were looking over Ul's books on Ice magic that Lucy had given them on the sidelines, both studiously ignoring the village girls who hung about them with star struck looks in their eyes.

All the while, Sherry hovered uncertainly on the edges. She had been left behind by her friends, and wasn't rude or brave enough to barge into their conversations; she had even left Angelica behind at the temple, so her beloved rat wasn't even there to talk to.

Lucy saw the pretty, pink-haired girl hovering on the fringes of the merriment, enviously watching the villagers dance to the beat of the drums and pipes that they had pulled out, as well as Lyon who was talking contently with Gray. And she could relate with the insecurity that the girl obviously showed, unsure of how to approach new people or how to enact a conversation; much like Lucy.

Mind made up, Lucy walked up to the girl and leant next to a tribal pole next to her, waiting for the girl to notice her present. When Sherry did notice the blonde leaning quietly beside her, she made an odd squeaking sound before breaking out into a massive blush. "L-lucy!"

"Hello, Sherry," the blonde smiled kindly at the pink-haired girl through the curtain of her unbound hair that had been decorated with several strands of beads and braided with leather, the way the village women had shown their thanks for helping them remember. She had even let them dress her up in their clothes, unlike the other mages, not wanting to show disrespect to their culture; she was decked out in a simple wrap skirt with braided belts hanging low on the gauzy, blue material, joined by her usual belt with her sword and keys – she wore shorts underneath, though, an old, comfortable pair of black ones that weren't noticeable under the skirt. She didn't feel comfortable wearing skirts unless she had shorts on. Her top was simple, cerulean material that was wrapped around in a way that made a choker around her neck to keep it up, before wrapping around her chest and stomach, trailing down her arms so that the ends fell by her sides.

"Listen, Lucy," began Sherry hesitantly after the blonde's words, "I just wanted to say sorry for…fighting you, you know? And I hope that you harbour no ill-will between us after my mean words; I really didn't mean any of it and…" The girl trailed off, unsure where to go from there.

She didn't need to worry though, Lucy picked up the end of her thread and continued to weave the rest of the conversation with sincere tones arcing through it. "It is alright, Sherry, I know what you mean, and I do not feel any angry towards you for your actions. I fact," the blonde smiled brilliantly at Sherry, looking positively radiant compared to her usually careful expression, "I am amazed by your actions." At Sherry's surprised and confused expression, Lucy continued. "The way that you defended Lyon and your opinions – love is a beautiful thing, especially when _you _speak of it – I couldn't help but see your point of view, and I'm thankful of it." Lucy dropped into a short bow, "don't ever change, Sherry, you're perfect and beautiful the way you are. Don't let anyone tell you different."

"And," Lucy said with an amused expression on her face as she straightened up, "if they do, you can come to me anytime."

Sherry stared in absolute surprise at the girl before her; she was speechless. Lucy took her wordless look of shock as something bad and began to apologise profusely. Her uncharacteristic babble of words only heightened when tears began to slip from Sherry's eyes.

The moment of panic was broken when Sherry gave a wail of thank you and something that sounded, suspiciously, of love, before launching herself forwards to hug the blonde.

Startled, Lucy grabbed Sherry in reflex, before realising what was happening and hugging Sherry back. The two stayed in the embrace for a while, and Lucy took the moment to stare into the treetops that fringed to village, catching the gaze of the shadowed woman who lounged in one of the tress, face only lit up by the crystal ball in her hands. The two shared a challenging look, until Lucy smiled softly and nodded in acknowledgement. When her head came up, Ultear was gone, and the hug was over.

Sniffling, Sherry drew away and wiped her eyes, trying to compose herself. When she caught sight of Lucy's amused face, she broke out into embarrassed giggles, mirrored by Lucy's deeper chuckles. "We're so odd, aren't we?"

"Y-yeah!" Sherry croaked out, "but, it wouldn't be _love _then."

"No," Lucy replied, "no it wouldn't."

The two young girls stared at each for a moment until Lucy offered a callous hand to the girl. "Friends?"

Sherry regarded the weather appendage for a second before grabbing it with her own soft ones. "Friends."

They shared a smile.

"As lovely as this moment is," spoke up a gravelly voice from behind Lucy, "I need to borrow Lucy-san for a moment of our own. I'll return her, I promise." Bobo smiled kindly at the startled Sherry, and then turned to Lucy. "Would you care to dance with me, Lucy-san? I have to find some way to give my profound thanks to you for saving our village."

"I had help," Lucy replied, "but I would love to dance with you, Bobo-san." Offering one last smile to Sherry, Lucy let Bobo take her smaller hand in his gnarled and leathery hand, and was led to where the villagers danced with one another in the centre of the village, around a large bonfire that lit up the scene in an unearthly glow.

Slowly, Lucy joined with Bobo and the others in the wild, twisting and twirling dance they were doing, both hands clasped in Bobo's demonic ones as they danced as partners, perfectly in tune with the music that rung out around them.

It was with a surprised and elated nod of approval from Lucy that Bobo spread his wings and lifted the two in the air, joining other villagers in a floating, graceful dance that few seemed to master. The two danced in time with the wind and the changing air currents, dipping and twisting as Bobo fluttered his wings and Lucy kicked her legs.

"Thank you so much for this, Bobo-san," Lucy said with a youthful expression on her face and colour in her cheeks as she stood among the stars. "This is…this is the best repayment that I could ever ask for! To be with the stars and the wind in the sky…" She breathed in the crisp, clean and cold air, then gazed up at the horizon and heavens before looking to Bobo's kindly face once more. "Thank you so much."

"It's my pleasure, Lucy-san," was the deep and pleased reply as Bobo began to spin the blonde again, her beads flying with her gold and red hair as they revolved, mimicking the heavens that glimmered alongside them.

* * *

**Nawww….such a cute ending! I really wanted to put that ending there with the village as I felt that no one ever does anything with it in fanfiction. I just wanted to make some connections with Lucy and Lamia Scale, as well as potential friends such as Sherry and Bobo. I hope it was okay for yous, and as an extra thing (due to the request of a delightful reviewer), this is the part I forgot – Mystogan entering fairy Tail and using his sleep spell on everyone. With a Tia twist!**

* * *

**Omake 1 – Mysterious Mystogan and the not-so-sleeping Beauty!**

Master Makarov calmly drank his mug of ale as everyone began to fall asleep around him, pushing away the sleep magic with a simple flex of his own, greater, magic.

Footsteps rang out through the uncharacteristically silent guild as Mystogan entered the scene, cloak flapping and staff in hand tapping in time to the footsteps.

"I wish you wouldn't do this every time you came," Makarov said quietly, eyes closed as he drank another mouthful of the not-so-sweet-tasting-anymore alcohol. "Is it really necessary?"

"Yeah," piped up a decidedly female, and unexpected, voice. "It's not like we can see any part of you or your face anyways, so what's with the secrets and the knocking people out thing?"

Makarov's eyes snapped open in surprise, and Mystogan whirled away from where he was looking at the board, both trying to see who had spoken up and was awake at the time. They both spotted the slim, blonde lounging on top of one of the tables, legs crossed in front of her, just like Makarov. A faintly amused expression was on her face as she raised a curious brow towards Mystogan, almost as if she was saying 'well…?'

"L-lucy?!" Spluttered out Makarov. If he had any alcohol in his mouth at the time, he would've been spitting it out then. "W-what? How? I don't understand!"

"You don't understand how I'm awake," Lucy finished for Makarov, but her eyes were glued onto Mystogan's own wide and dark pair – not like you could really see under his scarves and bandanas. "Well, it's pretty simple. I regulate magic throughout my body all the time and that counteracts any spells of the illusion, or even mental kind." The blonde broke off into a quick yawn that stretched her mouth and revealed pearly teeth. She finished the yawn and blinked dozily before actively shaking her head and flaring her magic enough that it made her outline glow golden for a moment. "But, as you can see, it takes much more effort when I am faced with someone as strong as Mystogan."

Both Mystogan and Makarov continued to stare at Lucy in surprise, to which Lucy responded with a shrug. "What? It's just a neat trick." She frowned thoughtfully at Mystogan, "you might want to take the monster hunting one to your right; it's good pay and will take about a month to complete."

Still surprised that someone either than the guild master had stood against his magic, Mystogan nodded stiffly before ripping off the mission from the request board and quickly making his escape out of the guild doors.

"I'll write your mission down in the log book!" Lucy called after Mystogan. "Good luck!"

The man ignored her as he disappeared out into the brilliance of the suns glare, his spell lifting as he did so.

The guild members woke slowly and found themselves on the floor, sprawled across the tables, and some half-hanging off the rafters – Max had just been thrown up there by Elfman during one of the numerous scraps the guild members got into.

"Damn that Mystogan," grumbled Gray as he tried to focus his eyesight.

"It's not manly to put people to sleep!" Elfman roared drowsily beside him, clutching at his vaguely aching head as he staggered up off the floor.

"It was so worth staying awake just to see you guys collapse on the floor like that," laughed out Lucy as Gray managed to lean against the table she was sitting on to stand up. "I think that I want Mystogan to come by soon so that I can see you goes go out like a light again. That's the quietest I've ever seen the guild!" The blonde continued to laugh, completely unaware as to the shocked stares that she was being given by the rest of the guild.

"Master?" Mirajane asked softly, shaking the pale man who was lying out on the bar, a ghost escaping his mouth. "What's wrong, Master?"

"She…stayed…awake?" Makarov gasped out.

"SHE STAYED AWAKE?! LUCY STAYED AWAKE AND SAW MYSTOGAN?!"

"WHAT DID HE LOOK LIKE?!"

"WAS HE HOT?!"

"DID HE TALK TO YOU?!"

"WAS HIS VOICE SEXY?!"

Lucy sighed at the chaos erupting around (and directed at) her. "Why can't Mystogan come back and make you all fall asleep again? I liked the quiet…"

"DID HE GIVE YOU HIS NUMBER?!"

"**I'M NOT TELLING! NOW BACK OFF!"**

"Aye!"

* * *

**Hope that it wasn't too bad there, and that everything made sense somewhat. I know I skipped out on a lot of the Galuna island storyline, but I didn't want to make this just like canon, so I made some parts different and cut others out. **

**Next arc; Phantom Lord! One of my favourites!**


	16. Phantom Pain

**Ohayō, my gakis! Haha, I'm nearly hitting 100 reviews with this story! Just one more push consisting of 3 reviews, and we'll hit the mark!**

**YAY! *Balloons fall from nowhere and glitter cannons explode.* **

**On another note: I have been seeing Fairy Tail everywhere! I bought a new singlet on the weekend, and I really liked it and all, but it was made ten times better because it was a **_**Layla **_**top! Awesome! And just a few days ago, I saw someone's graffiti tag on a wall, and their street name was **_**Jose.**_

**Fucking weird…**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoy your support. It'll seem a bit filler, but that's only so we can set the scene for the Phantom Lord arc to begin good and proper.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Fairy Tail, as I would've never been able to think of those new and incredibly awesome celestial spirit designs in the anime!_

**Warning: **_Huh, I have no idea. Let me get back to you…__**I'm back, and I say that there's some violence, as well as realistic injures and mentions of 'suicide' – I'll let you ponder over that.**_

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

Sighing softly to herself, Lucy ran slender fingers through her unbound hair, careful to not tangle her fingers in the leather bands, feathers and beads meticulously braided into her hair by the Galuna Island women.

The trip back from the island had been long and exhausting; with Natsu complaining and trying to run away from transportation, and then suddenly fighting with Gray. Erza had been no help, as she had decided the best way to fix the situation was to stop them and yell at them, before punishing them with physical pain.

Usually, Lucy would stop her with some quiet and logical words, but occasionally she couldn't help but agree with the red-haired demon that the boys needed to be disciplined; preferably with as much pain as possible.

With those holdups, the return trip was significantly longer than getting to Galuna Island, but Lucy was just glad to be back. She loved travelling around more than anything in the world, and she would've loved to spend a week or two with the Galuna Island occupants – something that she might do at a later date – but being with three, loud and rowdy people in such close quarters was really rubbing her the wrong way; she was ready to throw in the towel.

The only real highlight was that she had a shiny new golden key to fiddle with on her trip home; Sagittarius was only more than happy to have a new owner after so long, and was ecstatic to go and visit his old pupil, Cenas, again.

"If you don't mind," Lucy addressed her travelling companions, managing to hold in a sigh when she saw them all fight again – in the midst of the Magnolia train station, no less! "I would like to head to my apartment and set my belongings down." The blonde tugged on the knapsack-like bag slung over one shoulder casually. "And maybe freshen up while I am at it."

"You aren't trying to get out of your punishment, are you?" Erza asked dangerously, eyes flashing as she summoned a sword that shone just as brightly. "Because if you are-"

"No, Erza." Lucy replied tiredly, only just forgoing the urge to run a hand down her face. "I will not escape my punishment from Master. I am simply wishing to go home and unpack. Then I shall sleep this ordeal off, if you have no protests. And, no," Lucy said shortly, having noticed Natsu's eyes light up, "you can not enter my apartment and sleep with me tonight, Natsu."

With that, the blonde turned sharply on her heel and stalked off through the crowds at the station, with the soundtrack of Erza's roars of 'Beseeching a maiden's virtue, Natsu? I shall have to punish you!' and Gray's uproarious laughter at the situation playing loudly.

* * *

Carefully placing the last of her recently hand-scrubbed washing out onto the line that she had strung in her bathroom for such purposes, Lucy stood up and stretched, sighing blissfully when several air bubbles popped in her back.

Lowering her arms and looking around, Lucy nodded approvingly at the task she had just completed, before heading out of the surprisingly large room, intent on sleeping in her bed, regardless that it was only seven in the evening.

'That's the first big task down…' Lucy mused to herself as she slipped under her skin blanket. Her eyes instantly turned to look out of her open window, searching for her beloved spirits in their star form. 'Next up is Phantom Lord. I'm not sure if I will succeed so well in this arc as I did with the last one. The foes are so powerful…'

While Lucy knew that she was strong (stronger than Lucy had been at this time, at least), she wasn't too sure of how she measured up next to all of the other mages in the series. While it was evident that she could defeat someone of Sherry's calibre, it only showed that she was stronger than the real Lucy had been, which she was already aware of.

No, she was very concerned about opponents such as Gajeel, Juvia, and that man Sol. All of them approached Lucy at some point in the series, and Lucy knew that she would have to face them down if she wanted to change anything in this arc; she would not be captured and beaten so easily like Lucy had been. No way in hell.

But, on the other hand, Lucy had to take in the consideration that she had stood up already to Jude, and that he might not even be coming after her. There was that chance and, no matter how slim it was, Lucy could hold onto the hope that she wouldn't have to deal with Phantom Lord, even though she knew that Jose would come after Fairy Tail at some point and attempt to destroy them. She also needed to collect Juvia and Gajeel at some part, maybe even snag some other mages from the rival guild as well…

Well, Lucy just had to wait and see if the arc would happen; she wasn't too sure if she wanted it to happen or not, after all.

Maybe nothing would happen and she could go hunting for Ultear, since she had sent a lacrima message to the Magic Council informing them of the betrayal. The lacrima had been borrowed from a next door neighbour, and Lucy had thought the conversation with one of the council members had gone quite well, if the mental breakdown the man had was any indication.

Yep, things were going quite well for our heroine Tia, who was stuck in Lucy's body. Quite well indeed…

* * *

The luck only lasted an hour.

Having not gone to the guild, and only remembering the main parts of this arc, even though it was one of the ones she had watched repeatedly due to interest, Lucy had completely forgotten that Gajeel had already attacked the guild.

So it was with great surprise that she shot up in the beginning of the night, finding a figure creeping in through her open window.

Sensing that it wasn't Natsu's magic, Lucy acted on instinct and grabbed the person's ankle as they tried to step down onto the bed. Hands latched firmly around the offending appendage, Lucy ignored the distinctively male yelp as she swung him back into her apartment. She twirled him around once to pick up velocity before tossing them out the window.

Hearing them yell hoarsely in surprise and fear, Lucy let a small smile of satisfaction cross her face. However, when there were several more yelps, Lucy became more concerned; how many were attempting to attack her?

Slipping out of her sheets and snagging a knife hidden in the frame of her bed as she did so, Lucy leapt up onto her windowsill, landing with light feet as she did so. Standing upright and leaning out of the window so that she didn't hit her head on the framework, Lucy scanned stormy eyes on the figures sprawled out on the street below. "Who goes there?"

"Geez, Luce," groaned a familiar voice, "why'd ya have to toss Gray out of the window so that he hit me? So not cool."

Relaxing her stature, Lucy lowered the knife she had held at ready. "Seriously; what the fuck, guys? I'm tired and I want to go to bed, why can't you guys go to your own homes and sleep there?" She really wanted to add that she was sick of their presence and didn't really want to see their faces until necessary, but Lucy was too polite to say such a thing.

"Why did you throw Gray out of the window, Lucy?' Boomed out Erza's voice as she extracted herself from the dog pile that she and the two boys had formed when Gray fell down on them. Happy floated over her head, giggling at the fact that they had been hurt and he hadn't.

Taking a deep breath and holding it for a moment to soothe her rising anger, Lucy replied as steadily as she could, given the situation. "Maybe because someone just attempted to climb in through my window."

"So?" Gray demanded, rubbing the back of his head as he stood up. "Natsu does it all the time, according to him, and you're fine with that."

"Sometimes," Lucy replied, "but I recognise his magical signature, and I've already taught him to knock when I don't expect him. I thought that someone was attacking me, and I have the right to physically harm whoever tries to trespass on my property."

"But we aren't just 'someone,' Lucy." Drifting up to face the girl, Happy pouted at her. "Aren't we?"

Reluctantly, Lucy shook her head. "But that still doesn't give you a reason to break into my apartment; I have privacy, and I like it."

"Phantom Lord attacked our guild," Erza informed Lucy shortly, "we need to stay together in groups so that they don't separate us and attack us." She expected the blonde to be horrified, and maybe even thankful for their protection, but she was surely mistaken.

Sure, the collected group outside could see the slight widening of the white of Lucy's eyes, but they were quickly swallowed up by her dark eyes and drawn eyebrows. "You guys can go stay at one of each other's house, but there's no way you're staying here."

The three mages began to protest against this – Natsu being the loudest since he was usually allowed to stay – but Lucy quickly cut them off. Her voice was full of anger and unusually harsh. "Shut up. There are innocents trying to sleep and your noisiness are keeping them up; have some common courtesy." Her deadly tone quickly shut them up. "Besides; I have my spirits, so I don't need anyone to watch over me."

"But, Lucy," Gray started, genuinely concerned for his friend's wellbeing.

"But nothing," Lucy replied shortly. Her face softened slightly after her abrupt words. "If it makes you feel any better, Happy can stay over, and I'll summon one of my spirits now."

Happy let out a quiet cheer at these words and quickly darted inside the apartment, lest Lucy change her mind. As he did this, Lucy quickly asked mentally for one of her spirits, and Plue appeared with a flash, landing with a splat on Lucy's head. The little dog seemed quite happy, though, and settled down soon enough on the slightly bedraggled blonde hair.

None of the Fairy Tail mages on the street were very happy, but after assuring them a few times too many Lucy got fed up with them and slammed her window shut, locked it, and swiftly went back to bed to snuggle up with Plue and Happy.

Dumbfounded, Erza, Gray and Natsu looked at each other before degrading into an argument on where they would stay the night.

It was only when one of Lucy's neighbours stuck their head out of their window and screeched at them to 'stop your racket and go the fuck home!' that the mages finally decided to go to Gray's house – much to his annoyance.

* * *

The next morning, Lucy found herself staring up at the beat and broken forms of Jet, Levy and Droy as they hung, crucified crudely on one of the biggest trees in Magnolia Park. Next to her, Natsu steamed, literally, while Erza and Gray stared up at the tree, hands clenched and auras palpable with murderous intent.

It wasn't long until Makarov shattered his staff in his anger, and declared war. Something that only too many roared proudly about, already rushing off to prepare for the assault.

Lucy let them all run, uncaring that Natsu, Gray and Erza had abandoned her to avenge their beloved nakama; she didn't mind at all. Instead, she simply stood there in silence, eyes boring into the slumped faces of the people that she shared a guild with. Specifically, the delicate facial structure of the only female in the group.

Having only spent a week of getting to know the blue-haired girl, Lucy was slightly shocked to feel herself having to push down tears at seeing her condition; when – _how_ – could she have got so attached, so quickly?

But the light-hearted words of Levy, along with her tinkling laugh, rung in Lucy's ears, making her squeeze her eyes shut to preserve those happy memories, rather than to create new ones with the bloody visage in front of her.

* * *

"_I-I beg your pardon, Levy-san." _

_Startled, the blue-haired girl looked up from where she was fiddling around with a bunch of runes, locking gazes with a strangely bashful Lucy. "Y-yes? Lucy, isn't it." It wasn't a question. Levy knew who this girl was; the strong, stoic blonde with the sword strapped onto her back and an assortment of spirits at hand; the girl who had dealt with Yakuza, and could go toe-to-toe with Erza verbally if needed to; the girl named Lucy who, frankly, scared Levy some._

"_Yes, it is," Lucy replied respectfully, bringing Levy out of her thoughts. "I beg your pardon for intruding upon you in your free time…" the blonde shifted nervously again, dark brown eyes darting up to meet Levy's gaze before chasing something that only she could see around the room. "But I just…" The girl visibly steeled herself. "I believe we got off on the wrong foot, as so to speak, and I wish to make amends with you. This is for you, if you want it."_

_A small, slightly beat-up book was thrust forwards. Still shocked, Levy gingerly took the book, as if she was scared that it was going to bite, before carefully beginning to flip through it. "What is…" Suddenly, the girl gasped. "Oh, my! This is-"_

"_It's a book on the Galuna runic language, as well as verbal translations." Lucy looked upon Levy with a more happy expression on her face. "I was given two copies by the Galuna leader when I completed the mission, and I…well, I thought that you may like it, since you're a genius with language and all. Is it to your liking, or…?"_

_Levy leapt up from the booth she was sitting at and hugged Lucy in answer._

_Initially stiffening from the surprising contact, Lucy slowly relaxed and placed a hesitant hand on Levy's thin back. "I take it is to your liking, then."_

_Levy retracted, her eyes gleaming brightly. "Oh it is! This is a wonderful present, Lucy-san!" The blue-haired girl abruptly stopped the happy bouncing she had been doing since she relinquished Lucy, a pensive look on her face. "Do I have to add san to your name, or can I just call you Lucy?"_

_Lucy shook her head. "I don't mind what you call me, Levy-san."_

"_Then I can call you Lu-chan, and you can call me Levy-chan!" Levy replied excitedly, before seeming to remember who she was talking to. "Only…if you want."_

_A dazzling smile came across Lucy's face, like a sun coming out from behind clouds. It was the brightest and happiest smile Levy had ever seen on the blonde before. "I would love that…Levy-chan."_

* * *

Gritting her teeth angrily, Lucy stepped forwards and kicked her right foot into the trunk of the massive tree that held her nakama captive. Her foot imbedded itself deeply into the wood, powered by her emotions. Kicking up off her right foot, Lucy swung her left foot back and slammed it into the tree, digging it into the wood for another foothold. The blonde continued this mechanism until she reached high enough to face level with Levy.

A few fellow Fairy Tail members watched her from the ground, standing as a silent guard. They knew that from the girl's expression and body language that she was angry, and this was the best way for her to deal with it. They stayed close, though, eyes always on their hurt nakama; watching and waiting.

Lucy looked into Levy's blank face and took a moment to brush tender fingers against her bruised skin. Closing her eyes briefly, Lucy opened them again to reveal eyes blazing with a fiery anger. Her hands snaked out to grab the iron rods bent like staples that held Levy up.

Snarling deeply, Lucy yanked on the right one. Her feet dug into the tree, causing the tree to swallow her boots up, but she managed to pull the bar out of the tree. Tossing it disdainfully away, she caught Levy's half-slumping body with one hand before proceeding to yank the other one out.

Laki, having hung around to help the blonde that she occasionally chatted to, walked forwards to taken the small girl from a stoic Lucy. The purple-haired girl stepped back, carefully cradling the petite body in her arms.

After that, two male fairies stepped up to accept Jet and Droy from Lucy after she freed them.

The blonde tugged her feet out of the tree with some effort and flying splinters, before leaping down to the ground with a heavy thud. Uncaring of the fact that her boots were trashed and her hands were sore from ripping the bars out of the tree, Lucy stalked forwards to inspect Jet and Droy, having not payed much attention to them when she pulled them down. Looking up into the faces of the men holding two of her guildmembers, Lucy quickly ordered them to take them back to the guild's infirmary and guard them.

Resisting the urge to click their heels and salute to the assertive girl, the men raced off, with Laki following close behind with Levy in her arms.

The last remaining members looked to Lucy for direction. "What do we do now?" One of the males asked, his young voice betraying his fear of the entire situation.

Casting the boy a sympathetic look, Lucy directed him quietly. "If you do not wish to fight Phantom Lord, head back to the guild and guard the injured; I am sure that many more will come soon. Prepare yourselves, and get the infirmary prepped."

"Okay!" The boy nodded before heading off, almost all the mages following him.

"They aren't really battle-based," a women explained to Lucy, her familiar hat doffed low on her head. "They are very young, and inexperienced as well. You did a good job directed them, Lucey-Lou."

"I see," Lucy mused, "thank you very much, Astoria." She nodded gratefully at the women she had spoken to first when she had come to Fairy Tail, taking comfort in her familiar presence. They may not be close friends, but Astoria had already become someone valuable to Lucy, with her sound logic, kind heart, and fair and suave attitude. The two spoke often when Lucy wasn't waylaid by one of the members of 'the strongest team in Fairy Tail,' or recently, by Levy McGarden.

"Where are you heading off to?" Astoria continued, taking out a lollipop to place in her mouth and roll around – a habit that she was found of. "Me and me boys want to head to Phantom Lord and fight them, but I think we'll be a bit late with the fun." Here, she nodded to the two blokes standing behind her. Both were members of her team and both wore hats of their own; a fedora and cowboy hat respectively.

"I can help you there." Lucy cracked a weak smile. "I'll head up with you guys; I normally don't do revenge, but I'm more than willing in this case." Reaching for the keys in the pouch of her belt that was slung casually across her chest, Lucy brushed her fingers across a silver key. "Andromeda?"

The beautiful woman arrived instantly, cool gaze locked on Lucy. "Hello Lucy. What can I do for you today? I see we're not in battle for once. How odd."

Lucy couldn't help but chuckle at this, and Astoria joined in, drawing Andromeda's attention to her. A small smile lit the spirit's face when she took in who she was looking at. "Hello again, Astoria."

"Howdy, sis." Astoria dipped her hat at the spirit, lilac eyes shining through her tangle of dark brown hair. "How's my favourite lady goin'?" She shared a secret smile with Andromeda, both of them being rather close, as Astoria was the only human Andromeda approved of in Fairy Tail, and the only one she would talk to (excluding Lucy, of course) whenever she was summoned there.

"I am quite well," replied Andromeda, "but I believe idle chat should come at another time; I am needed, no?" The last part she directed at Lucy, who nodded in return. "It would be of great help if you could send the four of us," Lucy gestured to herself, Astoria and her two boys, "to Oak Town; we need to go visit Phantom Lord."

Taking in Lucy's dark expression, Andromeda wrinkled her pert nose in disdain. "That filthy guild again? Hmph, I expect that you'll be taking it down, then? Well," Andromeda didn't wait for an answer, "I guess I can do that, but I'll have to ask you to not call me for a week; a jump like that with so many people will drain my power significantly."

"Of course," Lucy agreed, "take a vacation, Andromeda, you've earned it."

"We'll see," was all Andromeda said before she ushered the two men, hovering uncertainly nearby in the face of the wrathful spirit that had seen around the guild occasionally, in close. Lucy held Andromeda's right hand in her left, which prompted Astoria to grab her other. After some prodding, the two men hesitantly touched the spirit's shoulders, before they felt themselves get twisted and turned, their vision warping with golden threads streaking wildly across the splashes of black, browns and blues.

Eventually, everyone's vision straightened out and Frank, the man with the fedora, instantly stumbled away to throw up.

"It can be quite disconcerting the first time," Lucy remarked, eyeing Frank's retching form, "but it'll clear up in a few minutes, so don't worry, Joe."

"Not worrying," squeaked the man with the cowboy hat, face slightly green. "Not worrying at all!"

Shaking away the last of her trip through space and time, Astoria focused her gaze on her surroundings. "Oh my lordy-lord…" She took in the massive, castle-like building in front of her, eyebrows quirked. "I certainly didn't expect for us to be right on our enemy's doorstep; it feels like Im'ma little girl again and 'bout to set a bag of doo-doo on me neighbours front porch and set it aflame."

Slightly baffled by the juxtaposition, Lucy nodded hesitantly in answer. "O~kay then." The girl then perked up, realising that her spirit wasn't around anymore. "That trip must have taken a lot out of Andromeda; she's already disappeared home." The blonde could only feel proud at her spirit's ability to take them so far, before she remembered where she was, what she was about to do, and the situation that started it. Her expression turned serious.

Noticing the change, Astoria swirled her lollipop thoughtfully around her mouth. "It's about to begin, isn't it? We're gonna fight Phantom Lord 'til one of us drops." The stress of the situation had her usually indistinguishable Western tang thicken, words slurred by the sharp-sounding accent.

"Yes," Lucy replied shortly, gaze cutting towards the horizon, "and here comes the cavalry."

Right on time, the rest of Fairy Tail came charging over the hill that led up to Phantom Lord's guild. Their expressions were grim and deadly as they sprinted, eyes promising pain and blood in retribution to what Phantom Lord had cost them. Leading the group was Erza and Natsu, both of them serious as they ran beside each other, their Master right behind them and already barking encouragements.

Upon seeing four of their guildmates standing in front of Phantom Lord's guild, waiting for them – Jason and Frank having recovered enough to stand beside their team leader – a fair few of the charging fairies' eyes widened, before they picked up the pace to come to a skidding stop in front of an imposing-looking Lucy.

"How-" Erza began, before she was cut short by Lucy. "I have a spirit who can transport long-distances, that's all you need to know."

Registering that this wasn't the time for chat, Erza nodded briskly before dropping back to stand with her fairy brethren. Taking the opportunity, Astoria, Jason and Frank slipped into the crowd of avenging mages, seamlessly joining the ranks. Only Lucy was left up front, facing a very serious Makarov. "What of Levy, Jet, and Droy's condition, Lucy?"

Visibly straightening up, Lucy replied in crisp, clear tones, like she was a soldier reporting to her General. "I assigned twelve mages to take them back to the guild's infirmary and treat them; they are setting up a perimeter of defence so that Phantom Lord will not take them unaware; they all did so voluntarily, sir."

Makarov nodded at this, face stormy. "Excellent. You did well, my dear. Are you going to help us pay back our nakama's pain? Are you going to help us show Phantom Lord why you don't mess with Fairy Tail?!"

"Please, Master," grinned Lucy grimly, "I don't need an inspirational speech to convince me to fight for Levy-chan's sake; I shall fight until my magic's gone! Then I will drag myself up and fight until my body breaks and my swords dull; but I won't stop until their spirit's broken and they understand what it is like to feel your loved ones be injured in front of them!" The girl's eyes blazed as she drew her sword and held it above her head triumphantly. "They shall know…FAIRY TAIL!"

Her guild roared in agreement in front of her, powering up their magic in preparation for the legendary battle that was about to begin. As they did that, Lucy charged her own magic into her legs.

Jumping up and pirouetting neatly, Lucy lashed out with her softly glowing legs. They hit the big oaken door that marked the entrance to the guild, and sent them flying inwards with a spray of splinters.

Taking over as the blonde landed in a crouch with her sword at the ready, Natsu leaped forwards with his hands already coated in fire, a challenging roar echoing out of his throat and making the ground tremble.

Behind him, but in plain sight, Makarov looked upon the shocked Phantom Lord members with a heavy glare. He blinked once before his eyes shot open and screamed a challenge, veins pulsing on his head. "WE ARE FAIRY TAIL! COME AT US WITH ALL YOU'VE GOT, PHANTOM LORD!"

Before the startled Phantom mages could react, Erza bounded forwards and led the stampede of revved up fairies into their guild. Almost instantly, there was chaos.

Calmly beginning to wade through the turmoil as the two guild met, Makarov, flanked by a fierce-looking Lucy, headed towards the stairs that led up to the topmost part of the guild. The two never paused, even when mages came flying at them; either thrown by one of the numerous fairies around the room, or simply thinking that they could take on the guild master (a wizard saint), or the sword-wielding blonde next to him (a severely pissed off female).

At every moment that one of these foolish mages came at them, Makarov would lift an enlarged hand and bat them aside without blinking, or Lucy would raise a golden leg to boot them away. Either way, those that approached the two deceptively slow-walking mages were sent flying away to crumple at the corners of the large guild hall.

Upon reaching the second flight of the guild, Makarov turned to his self-appointed bodyguard. "I shall have to ask you to stay down here, my dear, this battle will be too dangerous for you get involved in. It would break my heart to see one of my children injured by my fault."

Face twisting with sorrow – she knew what was to happen next! And he called him his child! No one had done that in years! – Lucy reluctantly bowed her head in respect and submission. "As you wish, Master." She straightened up and looked into the tiny man's eyes, trying her hardest to not let her emotions bleed through the dark orbs. "Good luck, sir."

"So polite," Makarov chuckled before he disappeared up the next flight of stairs in pursuit of the man who had started this whole thing; Jose.

Sparing one last glance towards where the great man had disappeared, Lucy rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck, visibly steeling her resolve. "Let's get this party started."

Summoning her newest spirit, Sagittarius, Lucy ordered him to stay up on the balcony and pick off the Phantom Lord members in the level below with his arrows. Meanwhile, the blonde prepared herself to defend her loyal spirit from those enemy mages that were perched along the balcony that stretched around the entirety of the guild. They obviously had the same idea that Lucy had; pick off the opposition from a safe distance.

Baring her teeth in a savage smile, Lucy leapt forwards to parry a large-set man's flaming staff with her own sword. Much to the man's bewilderment, the sword sliced through his wooden staff and curved up towards his chest.

Expecting the sword to smash into him and knock him back like most other weapons he had met with, the phantom man was surprised to have the sword slice a large cut into his chest, a spray of his own blood splattering up on his face.

The shocked expression on his face was still etched there when he released half of his staff that he managed to keep and collapsed back into unconsciousness.

Cursing, Lucy quickly sheathed her sword. "I forgot that this sword doesn't have the spells on it to make it inflict blunt force; it's just a regular sword!" The girl scrambled back to dodge the earth-encased fist of her next opponent, a bulky woman who screamed 'my bark is bigger than my bite, but you should still be worried, bitch!'

Sagittarius spared his summoner a worried glance as he paused his massacre of arrows on the phantom members below, but Lucy quickly waved him off as she leapt back again to dodge another haymaker by the brutish hulk of a woman.

Scowling at each other, the two females began to engage in a fight based in close-combat. The phantom swung fists heavy with earth, and stomped into the hard ground to send spikes of earth arcing up towards Lucy, attempting to skewer her. Lucy, for her credit, dodged with an elegant grace that many onlookers found mesmerising; whenever the phantom swung bulky fists and launched dangerous spikes, the blonde would slide and twist under and around them, the earth barely brushing her as she did so.

The two continued the out-of-proportion dance for a while, getting a feel for each other. It wasn't until Lucy decided to strike back that the tempo of the dance picked up.

Leaning back to dodge another fist and placing one hand on the floor to steady herself, Lucy kicked one leg up to boot the woman right under her chin and send her stumbling back. The shocked girl didn't have enough time to register the pain of the kick as Lucy transferred her gravity and lashed out with a leg sweep that knocked the girl to the ground.

Pouncing on the off-balance woman, Lucy knocked her unconscious with a blow to the temple and then moved on to her next target.

The Celestial mage was a whirlwind of activity as she took down a large selection of Phantom Lord mages only using her physical prowess, telegraphed her attacks further by pushing magic to course through her limbs.

Smashing through a group of confused mages by sliding across the ground and knocking them down with her legs, Lucy leapt to her feet and looked wildly around for her next opponent. Finding no one in the vicinity, the blonde relaxed her stance and looked around, confused as to why there were no more mages coming towards her with the intent to kill.

Her unspoken question was answered as she spotted scattered all around the balcony was the sprawled, groaning forms of all the mages that had positioned themselves upon the higher ground. Most were unconscious, having been dealt heavy blows to the head, or even had their nerve clusters pinched to enact sleep upon them forcibly, but there were a couple that were simply lying there, nursing bruised and battered bodies.

The Celestial mage blushed lightly at this sight, and that she had gotten carried away, as she rubbed at a bruise forming on her face. "I did not expect to beat these guys so easily; they must suck."

"No, moshi moshi!" Sagittarius spoke loudly from behind the girl, startling her by his sudden appearance. "Your skills are very high, Lucy, and you defeated them with your own strength! I am proud to have you as my owner!"

"Not owner, Sagittarius," Lucy corrected gently, "but friend. I am your friend, and I don't want to be seen as someone of high power who you can't approach; that's not me. I only wish to have you as my friend, and to aid me in battle whenever is possible for the both of us." The girl offered the taller person a smile, which the cosplaying spirit returned happily. "Okay, moshi moshi! Is there anything else you need me to do, Lucy?"

Lucy shook her head in answer. "No. You may go home if you wish, Sagittarius." As the spirit saluted her and began to disappear back home, Lucy quickly asked a question. "I'm just a bit curious; how many people did you shoot down?"

The horse-man sent her a devilish smirk, startling Lucy with the uncharacteristic expression. "Thirty-six. I mean, thirty-six using only one shot each." He then disappeared to the Spirit World, leaving Lucy to wonder _just _how good that certain spirit was at archery.

Her ponderings were interrupted by Erza, as she bellowed for them to retreat, tears streaming down her face. Lucy started, before realising what had happened. She placed a hand on the railing that enclosed the balcony and vaulted over it, flipping through the air to land with barely a sound in the middle of a crowd of jeering Phantom Lord mages.

At feeling someone else in their midst, the men and women stopped their mocking of the retreating Fairy Tail to look back. At seeing a blonde that they didn't know, but hadn't seen fighting alongside the fairies, they were understandably confused. However, one female recognised her, and began to tremble lightly, alerting the others around her to her predicament.

"O-oi," one of them nudged the trembling girl, "what the hell's up? This is probably just some dumb fairy that's gotten battered around so much her wings and crooked and she can't fly; we'll just have to direct her to the nearest exit!" The smirking male stepped forwards to apprehend the blank-faced blonde currently standing, waiting patiently, and in the centre of the loose circle the collected phantoms had made, but a hand clasping his arm caused him to stop. "D-don't!"

Startled, the man looked back to see the girl staring past him, fearful eyes on Lucy. "What is it?"

"S-she's a monster," the girl whispered, "she managed to take out Reginald, and everyone else up on the balcony…_using no magic, and no weapons._"

Severely shaken now, the man shifted a step back from the stoic blonde, his fellow guildmembers following him. "N-no way!"

"Way." The subject of their conversation finally spoke up, shocking a few members by the fact that her honey voice that was marred deeply with frosty edges.

"She's bluffing!" Another phantom shouted out, eyes crazy with the tenseness of the conversation. Several of his friends agreed, all of them completely ignoring the other fairies sprinting past them to join up with Erza, who was beckoning them urgently out the door. "Lucy!" She called out, seeing the blonde 'trapped' in the centre of a mob of phantoms, worry etching deep lines into her beautiful face. "We need to go!"

Taking a moment to nod back to the redhead, Lucy looked back at the mages surrounding her with a light twinkling in her dark depths. "I'm very sorry, but it seems that I won't be able to play with you today. It was charming, really, but I must go." Just as she was about to push her way through the crowd, Lucy spotted a young boy, injured severely, hanging at the fringes of the crowd, ignored by everyone else.

His dark hair flopped over his face, but his red eyes still pierced through the thick strands, looking at Lucy with innocence that she found refreshing, after having been surrounded by teenagers with pain-filled pasts for so long.

Mind made up, the blonde began to make her way over, only to have several enemies block her way. Undeterred, she jumped into the air to plant a foot on two different mages heads, supressing a smile when she heard them yelp with surprise and pain. Lucy proceeded to walk forwards, like she was walking on regular ground, using the Phantom Lord mages heads as stepping stones.

As she reached the last man's head, the dark-haired boy slowly began to back away, panic beginning to creep into his bright eyes. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to run before Lucy snatched him up and tucked him under her arm. Powering magic to her legs, Lucy pushed off the heads of two phantoms (sending them sprawling to the ground in the process) and flipped over several of their heads.

The boy in her arms squeaked as they hit the ground, but the sound was quickly wiped away in the strong wind that picked up around them as Lucy picked up the pace. Throwing the guild of Phantom Lord one last look, Lucy dashed out after Erza, who had just ushered the last Fairy Tail mage out, with one of their youngest mage under her arms.

"Why do you have one of Phantom Lord's men with you?" Erza asked the blonde with a thick voice as they went hurtling down the hill to catch up with the rest of their guild. "Sorry. Boy."

Hefting the boy up in her arms a bit more, Lucy answered loudly, so that her voice could reach Erza through the slipstream of their fast movements. "He's like Natsu, if you get what I mean, and an innocent; he doesn't have Phantom Lord's influence tainting him yet."

"And how do you know this?" Erza asked after she got over her shock. It was strange that she wasn't angry at the withholding of information, but she had gotten used to being out of the loop whenever she was with Lucy; it was part of being associated with her, the sword mistress guessed.

"I gathered information about dragons and their slayers, remember?" Lucy replied with no bite, eyes trained on the backs of her guildmates as they caught up with them. She couldn't hear Phantom Lord behind her, which was odd, considering that they had chased and jeered after Fairy Tail in the series, but she just guessed that they were lucky.

"You know about my dragon?" It was the first words that the boy had spoken, and his voice was still high with youth, but both Lucy and Erza could hear the nice, matured voice that it would become in the future – Lucy more so than Erza. "You believe that I'm a Dragon Slayer?"

Lucy spared the boy a smile as he peeked up through his fringe at her from his position under her arm. "Of course I do; we've got one in my guild, and you already have one in yours, so why wouldn't I believe you're a Dragon Slayer?"

The boy hung his head. "None of the people in Phantom Lord believe me; they say someone so _weak _would **never **be trained by something as strong as a dragon, but they're wrong!" The boy's face was crumpled into a frown as he spoke, and Lucy absently trailed her fingers through his silky hair to calm him down. "It's okay, we in Fairy Tail will always believe you; we will never consider you weak, as well. No matter what level your magical or physical strength is, if your heart is large and your will strong, you are considered powerful. It's the power of friendships that keeps you going, remember that."

Nodding his head, surprise written all over his face, the boy went to answer, but he suddenly jerked around to catch sight of something. "G-gajeel-sama!"

Eyes widening, Lucy shoved the boy into Erza's arms and thrust her away from her. The redhead went tumbling down the hill with the boy tucked into her arms, rolling with a surprised expression on her face until she bumped into the back of Loke's legs, causing both of them to stop.

"Erza?" Loke stated as he looked down at the shocked girl lying on the back of his heel, a small boy in her arms. "What? Who's tha-"

"LUCY!" Erza cut across the secret-spirit, jumping to her feet and dragging the boy with her. "LUCY!"

Her cries attracted the rest of Fairy Tail's attention, and they turned collectively to see their residential Celestial mage, a hundred metres or so up the hill, get completely blindsided by a fast-moving grey blur.

Several cried out in shock as the blonde and whoever attacked her went flying away from the road they were following, their bodies falling over the side of the hill to head towards the left of the Fairy Tail mages position. Many caught sight of Lucy stagger up to begin trading blows with the grey blur, who was revealed to be a man with long black hair, but she was quickly being forced back, the man pushing his element of surprise to boot the girl away from him.

Before any of the fairies could react, the two had disappeared over another hill, the man shoving what looked like an iron bar into Lucy's gut, and then propelling off the ground with another by his leg. It was enacted so quickly that several mages blinked and missed it entirely.

"W-what just happened?" Stuttered Elfman, arms cradling the sickly Makarov. "What just happened to Lucy?"

Natsu had the answer for him. He hissed out the name with contempt, fire beginning to roll off him once more. "Gajeel."

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

Gasping out as Gajeel's iron rod hit me in the gut, I couldn't do anything as I felt my feet actually _lift _off the ground. The hovering lasted about, oh, a _millisecond_, before I went hurtling through the air. Gajeel's grinning face kept up with me as he extended one leg into another rod and sent himself through the air. "Not so tough now, blondie?"

"You're so cliché," I managed to choke out. I mean, I did have an iron rod in my gut, trying its best to break my stomach and mash my intestines, you know, but that doesn't mean I can't have a sense of humour.

To my surprise, Gajeel cackled in answer. "Oh! We've got some spunk on this one, do we? I love the ones who fight back, they're always so much fun to break."

Before I got snap back an answer, our trajectory changed and I went hurtling backwards towards the earth. I only had enough time to glance towards the ground before looking up at Gajeel's grinning face in horror. After that, I heard a crunching sound that mixed in with the absolute pain I felt up along my body, before my consciousness went _snap._

* * *

When I came to, it was to the most unpleasant sight of severe pain burning across my body – my back being the worst – and a smirking Jose who leered at me when he saw my eyes were open. "How lovely of you to join me, Miss Heartifilia. I was wondering when you would wake up."

"You're all so cliché in this world," I managed to slur out through my pain-induced haze and last shreds of unconsciousness. "Do you guys all read the same _evil person quotes: handbook edition_ whenever you do something diabolical, 'cause it sure seems that way."

"Gajeel was right," Jose chuckled, "you do have some spunk in you! But all that attitude won't do you any good in this situation; it'll just cause you pain and more discomfort." The man jerked his head towards me, creepily glittering eyes focused on something below my face.

'This better not be my chest,' I thought before managing to tilt my head down, my neck protesting the whole way. 'Oh, it's not.' No. Jose was gesturing towards my wrists, which were bound tightly with massive handcuffs that glowed with runic symbols that were engraved deeply into them. Well, shit. What the heck were these things?

As if reading my mind, Jose answered with obvious excitement. "Those are magic-restricting handcuffs; expensive, but necessary for someone with your obvious skills." The man smirked to himself, barely seeming to focus on me. "I know all about you, you know? When your father hired me to _collect _you, I followed your path to Fairy Tail. Well," he looked mockingly abashed, "I actually had to work my way _back _from your entrance to Fairy Tail." The man with the pencil-thin moustache finally focused his gaze on me, dark eyes locking onto mine with a sort of sick fascination. "You're hard girl to find, Lucy."

I wanted to reply with an 'I try my best, really.' But that seemed a bit far out of my current capabilities. It was taking all of my strength to focus on what Jose was saying; it was kind of wavering in and out though. Very disorientating, but I was extremely happy that I didn't get sea-sickness.

"There was no evidence of you before Werkshore," Jose continued, not noticing my obvious wooziness. "You seemed to disappear from your estate's gates, and it was only when someone caught sight of a blonde-haired girl riding on the shoulders of what appeared to be a giant bull that someone reported to my client." Jose grinned, showing his amusement of that statement. "But then you disappeared again, only to show up with those lovely red streaks in your hair." Here, the guild master stepped forwards to run crooked fingers through my hair, severely repulsing me. "And it was only your lovely brown eyes that gave you away. Apparently you look a lot like your mother."

Jose looked into my eyes once more, and I tried my best to reflect my usually persona of an aloof girl to protect my inner thoughts. It didn't seem to work by the fact that his amused smile made another appearance. He stepped back, though, which I was happy about, and began to talk again.

"Then the rumours came; of a blonde girl who took down the dark guild Draken, and defeated their leader so fast that the onlookers missed it; a beautiful girl who managed to take down a whole nest of wyverns with only a man with scissors beside her; a girl with brown eyes that glowed with golden power and who managed to free a whole encampment of illegal slaves that were being kept captive on an offshore island to the north of here."

A sharp smile came onto Jose's face, and I shifted slightly in unease. "And even here, in Oak town, _my _domain; a girl named Lucy who managed to infiltrate and disband a large chain of yakuza who ran their business across the streets, and right under my nose." The thin man leant forwards and I felt uncomfortable in the line of his sight. "Do you know how _humiliating _it is to go to an annual meeting of the Wizard Saints and the Magic Council, only to have the old farts moan to me about how only one of their roving mages, a young girl of seventeen no less, could defeat a bunch of mobsters, and yet my guild – _the most powerful guild in Fiore! – _couldn't even take them down, even though they were right next door?" He didn't wait for an answer, his face twisting cruelly as he spat spittle towards me with his next words. **"DO YOU?!"**

When I didn't give him an immediate answer, he backhanded me. My head cricked painfully to the side and fire bubbled down my back, following the curve of my spine. I had to bite my tongue so that a cry of pain wouldn't leave my lips, and instantly regretted it as blood filled my mouth from the injured appendage.

Spitting the blood to the side, I glared up at Jose with as much anger and hate as I could muster – which wasn't much of a challenge. "Phantom Lord isn't the strongest guild in Fiore; that title belongs to Fairy Tail."

I instantly was repaid with my snide comment with another backhand, but it was totally worth it to see that look of shock and anger cross Jose's face. "Shut up, you filthy brat. Even if you are an heiress, your manners could do with a lot of work; is that any way to talk to someone of greater power than you?"

"I only talk respectfully to people that deserve it," I breathed out, my right eye closed so that blood didn't drip into it from whatever cut Jose's ringed hands had managed to form. "And I am _no _heiress."

"Sure," Jose drawled disbelievingly, "why else would your father send me to find you if you were of no worth?"

I coughed weakly, the breath rattling in my throat. That didn't sound too good. "I am only of worth when Jude sells me off to a suitor; I have no money on me either than the money I make myself doing jobs at the guild." I grinned at him with bloody teeth. "I am no worth to you, Jose, so don't even begin to think of using me for your own gain."

Anger twisted his face again, Jose lashed out, and this time he kicked me in the gut, making me nearly hurl from the pain of the strong kick and the lingering pain of Gajeel's attack earlier on. Something was probably broken there. "Shut up! You're got lots of money on you! Your name means instant cash, so don't throw around weak bluffs like that!"

I laughed then, just to psych him out and annoy him more. "My name?! My bloody name! Oh, that's a riot! None of my nakama know I'm a Heartifilia! And when I left the estate, I took only the money I had scrounged up over the years; barely a thousand jewels. What makes you think I'm living it up in style, Jose?"

The Phantom Lord Master cursed me out with colourful language, lashing out at me in a flurry of punches and kicks that had me curling up in a ball, but not stopping me from laughing so hard that I was sick; this man was just sad.

After a minute or two of this abuse, Jose let up, panting as he glared down at me. "I've had about enough of your tongue, bitch. Stand up and I'll lead to a room with accommodation more suited to your personality."

Looking around the barren and slimy dungeon room we were in, I barked out another coarse laugh, sensing the irony and sick humour in Jose's comment. Deciding to follow his instruction, though, I attempted to drag myself to my feet using my shackled hands, but it was hard with Jose kicking at me when I was to slow, and the shattering pain in my back. I hoped it wasn't broken, but I was moving, so that meant something good.

When I finally managed to get to my feet, I let myself take a moment to let my eyes get back into focus, my pounding head only made worse by Jose's screams. When I wasn't seeing double, or a splash of colours, I stumbled back a step. I could hear the howl of the wind as it whipped around the open wall of the dungeon-room I was in – I was in the same room that Lucy had been kept in during the series. Good.

"Where are you going?" Jose sneered at me, taking a step forwards whenever I snuck one back. "Forwards is towards your new accommodation, backwards is towards a very flighty death." The man grimaced again in a mocking version of a smile and advanced towards me again.

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva that tasted strongly of iron – bloody blood – I shuffled back a few more steps. I could now feel the wind tugging at me, and making my long hair – now unbound, as I had somehow lost my hair tie from the point of being hit by Gajeel and waking up here – and the loose sleeves of my battle top flutter in the wind. The flames on the shirt looked like they were really burning. Cool. "Death is sometimes better than life, but only if it is done justly."

I didn't really want to die, but it was better a merciful death than to be subjected to torture before being handed over to Jude, who would probably keep these cuffs on me all the time and marry me off to some bastard. Call me weak for not wanting to go through _any _of that, especially the torture, but I couldn't care less; I was a girl who roved. Being tied down like that would kill me anyways, just more slowly.

"Really?" Jose feigned interest as he reached a hand forwards to grab me. "How quaint."

Just as he was about to touch down on my shoulder, I reared my head back to slam it headfirst into his own, doing a very sloppy, very painful head butt that had him lurch back and let off a string of fanciful curses again.

Taking advantage of his momentary weakness, and trying my best to ignore my own swimming vision, I pushed myself backwards to fall ungracefully off the edge of the building.

I could hear Jose's roar of fury as I fell, the winds curling around me and making the sound warp oddly. Even though I was either about to die, or break every bone in my body – if some weren't already broken – I was oddly calm. There were no more second chances after this. No more waking up in someone else's body (I hope). I was going to die. Lucy Heartifilia was going to die here and Tia would die for the second time alongside her, unknown by everyone except a few spirits that jangled on my hip in the fall. It was a pity that I couldn't summon them, what with the magic-restraining cuffs and all. It would've been nice to live for a while longer and say my goodbyes to them. I hope my spirits will be sad to see me go, but not overly; I don't want them to be depressed or anything.

Wow. I was getting a lot of time to think here, what with the big drop and all. It's such a difference to my last death. I might as well say my last goodbyes and all.

Bye bye Tia. It was nice being you for fifteen years. Even though you had a fairly sucky life full of loneliness, either than your little sister, who wasn't much of a companion until she was seven years old. And even though you were always getting into trouble with the law, you were a spitfire and I liked that.

Goodbye Lucy. I'm sorry that I couldn't fix your life up for you. I tried my best, I swear. It was nice being you for a year, though. I liked having magic. I liked making so many friends. I liked that I could act so aloof, like the persona I had built up to deter my parents and not let their absence hurt me. It was…nice. Everything was nice.

As I smiled and closed my eyes, not wanting to see the ledge I fell off disappear into the sky, I finally felt at rest since I'd first found out that the world was a cruel place, and that my parents wouldn't notice me, no matter how hard I tried.

But, as I said my last goodbyes to the world and mused over a few of my regrets, I slammed into something hard (but not the ground), nearly blacking out again from the pain that shuddered up my back.

I don't feel ashamed to admit that I screamed as loudly as I could when I went tumbling across the ground. My back was on fire and I was nearly choking on blood as I bit my tongue again. My stomach was rolling unpleasantly with pain, and that mixed badly with the horrible taste of blood in my mouth and throat. That all didn't matter though, because I was alive! I was fucking alive!

Opening my eyes and blinking away the blood smeared on my right globe, I tried my best to focus my gaze on whatever had saved me.

"Are you okay, Luce?"

Whatever was under me began to rock and move, and I couldn't bite back the strangled gasp that escaped my mouth as my body's nerves flared in distress. The object I discovered as Natsu stilled underneath me, and I could almost taste his nervousness. "H-hey! Are you alright?"

"Just shove me off you," I panted out. Shortly after, I began to curl my hands in anticipation as Natsu tensed underneath me. "One…two…"

"Jesus Christ!" I blew up. "JUST DO IT ALREADY!"

Not wasting a second, Natsu shoved me off him. I screamed again as I rolled. If something wasn't screwed in my back, then I was going soft. Maybe I needed to beat up a few trees when this whole shit with Phantom Lord was over. Yeah, that would be therapeutic…wow, I must be seriously screwed up in the head right now to be able to joke about anything.

"Geez, Luce. What the hell happened to you?" Warm hands gripped my side and slowly rolled me over so that my face wasn't in the dirt and rubble from where (I guessed) Natsu had slammed into the wall to break our fall, just like in the series.

"Jose didn't like me talking back," I rasped out, eyes blurrily taking in the bright colour of Natsu's hair as he leant over me. "It's funny, though. I'm normally very good with talking to people; maybe he needs to work on his people skills."

I didn't know if Natsu laughed at my delirious comment, but I felt him kneel into the earth next to me and begin to run his hands across my arms and legs. "Fuck. He really did a number on you." He hit a particularly sensitive spot by brushing my forehead, and I growled to inform him of not poking there too hard. He instantly took his hands away from there, but continued to check over my body physically. I could've sworn I felt his hands heating up with every passing second. Odd.

"What did he do to you?" Natsu's voice came out as a snarl, surprising me into answering truthfully. "He hit me because I told him the truth."

Okay, his hands were definitely heating up. I let out a whimper, trying to inform him of my discomfort, and I was lucky enough to have Natsu back off. I was starting to make out his face now, and he didn't look very happy at all. I wonder why.

"I'll have to pick you up and carry you back to the guild," Natsu informed me, "you're too injured to walk on your own."

Oh. That must be why he's so angry looking; I must be a liability. He has to put up with my weakness for a whole walk home. That must be annoying.

Natsu's voice cut through my thoughts, sounding as hot as his hands which were carefully picking me up. "You're not a liability, Lucy! You're not weak at all! I don't know why that bastard Gajeel kidnapped you, but you're not weak for standing up to this Jose guy and taking a few hits!"

The boy continued to rant and rave, but I was more interested in how he knew what my thoughts were. Was he a mind reader or something?

"Lucy." Natsu's change in tone made me focus back on him. I was swaying now, which meant we were walking. "Yeah?"

"You don't realise you're talking out loud, do you?" Natsu's tone was now amused, and I was starting to see his face with sharper focus. "What?"

"Never mind, weirdo."

"You shouldn't call me that." My head lolled slightly from its position over Natsu's forearm, and I felt myself get adjusted so that I didn't hurt my neck again. "It's not my right to be called that."

I vaguely heard Natsu ask why, but his face was blurring out again and the edges of my vision were getting dim. Man, falling unconscious sucks royal hippogriff.

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

Bustling around the salvaged infirmary (luckily this room in the guild hadn't been hit so hard by Gajeel's iron pillars; you did have to make sure you didn't coat hanger or trip over some here and there, though), Mirajane tended to the Fairy Tail members that were injured from the attack on Phantom Lord; most weren't grievous, and there were a couple of males putting it on in hopes that Mirajane would nurse them back to health (preferably in a sexy nurse outfit), but the barmaid was happy enough to help out everyone where needed.

Just as she finished the last of her check-ups on those that were healing (paying special attention to the still comatose Jet, Levy and Droy), someone burst through the door. Someone with another someone in their arms.

Upon realising that Natsu was clutching a half-conscious Lucy to his chest, Mirajane had to visibly wrestle with her shipping senses for a moment, before she became all business at seeing the blood caked onto her forehead. "What happened?"

"Dunno," Natsu replied, carefully placing Lucy on a free bed. "She's saying something about Jose getting angry at her for telling the truth and kicking the shit out of her for it, but I only know that she's badly hurt." The fiery boy had an equally hot look on his face, eyes blazing and arms crossed as to not clench them until his fingers broke. "He really did a number on her. She keeps complaining that her back hurts."

"I'm not complaining," Lucy slurred out, rising above the tide of unconsciousness enough to hear people and answer them. "You're the one who bitched about my weight." The blonde then _giggled_, like she was hearing an inside joke that no one else got. "Blasted cat."

"And she's delirious," Natsu added lamely. "She's been babbling all sorts of weird stuff since I caught her; I knew she was a weirdo, but I didn't realise just _how _weird."

Pushing down more shipping feels as she studiously began to bandage Lucy's cuts from the toes up, Mirajane spoke up with an even tone that didn't betray her thoughts. "Caught her? What do you mean by that?"

Natsu scratched his head absently before dropping into a seat next to Lucy's bed. He slung one leg over the other to get comfortable and tossed his arms over the back of the plastic chair to complete the cool look. "I mean I caught her when she fell from the weird tower-thingy that she was being kept in."

Before Mirajane could reply, Lucy spoke up again. The blood on her lips and chin cracked every time she moved her mouth, but the girl hardly seemed to notice. "Didn't fall."

"What do you mean you didn't fall?" Mirajane asked with a sense of dread pooling in her gut. Her hands didn't shake, though, when she carefully lifted up Lucy's shirt to reveal a large bruise forming there. "Your ribs might be fractured, Lucy, but I can't do anything about that; I don't have enough skills."

"'S okay," the blonde replied, showing how much she was rattled by her lack of polite words. "And I didn't fall; I jumped." The girl frowned slightly, brow creasing and causing the blood on her forehead to fold like peeling paint. "Now you're going to ask me 'why.' You're very repetitive today, Mira."

Pushing a smile onto her face, Mirajane replied sweetly as she applied a healing paste onto the bruise. "Well, sweetie, I just want to know what happened exactly. Why don't you start from the beginning?"

"Beginning of what?" Asked Lucy. "Beginning of my first life, or what? The second one?"

Ignoring the strange statement, Mirajane said gently, "Start from when Gajeel hit you away from us; we were so worried you know? When you got hit like that."

The blonde grunted. "He hits like a girl; I don't think I broke too many ribs, which is a first." Lucy seemed disgruntled by Gajeel's 'lack of effort,' but began to tell Mirajane and Natsu of how she had woke up in a dungeon and had chatted with his guild master, Jose. She then went on to explain of how she'd, well, told him off a few times, and then he basically beat her.

At this part, Mirajane's sweet face went sour, and Natsu burst into flames momentarily, only cooling down when Gray walked past to douse him with ice. The Ice mage then paused as he realised who was in the bed, and quickly sat down next to Natsu, who summarised what had happened – causing Gray to nearly get up a freeze this Jose bastards' dick off – before they listened back into the part where Lucy explained about her handcuffs – which were still on her wrists.

"We'll get them off shortly, Lucy," Mirajane said to the girl as she rubbed cream under the cuffs to soothe some of the raw skin there that had been caused by the cuffs rubbing against Lucy's skin. As she did so, Mirajane couldn't help but notice that the skin there was paler than the rest of Lucy's tanned body, like she had been bound several times before.

"Hope so," Lucy replied, eyes and words significantly clearer. "These things are really annoying; not being able to feel my magic is giving me the heebie jeebies."

"That's nice and all," broke in Gray, "but I still don't get how you fell off the tower; did Jose push you?"

Lucy attempted to shake her head, but found her neck burning as she did so, so she replied verbally. "No. He wanted me to come downstairs…" Here, her eyes got slightly haunted. "He wanted to bring me to 'better' accommodations." She looked down at her hands which were clasped in her lap. She was sitting up now as Mirajane looked at her back and carefully bound it, making sure not to hurt the girl, or lift up the shirt too much to reveal anything to Gray or Natsu. Lucy hesitated some more before answering. "I think he was going to torture me then. I…I was scared. I didn't realise it then, but I was scared of the pain that was to come."

At seeing Lucy's face crumple, an expression he had never seen on the girl before, Gray was quick to placate her, all the while trying not to show his anger. "It's fine to be scared of pain; it's only-"

"Human," Lucy said. "It's only human to feel pain, but that doesn't mean that I won't be ashamed of my fear. Fear is something that controls you, and it controlled me to take the other option. But then again," Lucy's eyes flashed, "I can't just blame my problems on something so easily."

"What other option?" Gray asked quietly.

Lucy looked at him dead in the eye, her brown eyes cooling back down to their usual dark shade, barring everyone from what her thoughts were. "Isn't it obvious; death."

"You were going to kill yourself?" Natsu exploded, the temper that he had been pushing down for so long boiled over in a flurry of movement and sound. His chair hit the ground with a clatter as he stood up. His dark eyes were bright with sparks of anger as he leaned into Lucy's carefully blank face. "Why the hell would you do that?!"

"What would drive you to do that…?" Mirajane murmured, aghast by the whole situation. Gray could only nod, a furrow deep between his brows, beside her.

"…Always with the 'what's and 'whys'…" Lucy's face was downturned. "You ask 'why would you do that,' or 'what made you?' The thing is…that's something personal, and not something I can give so willingly to people who don't know anything about me."

"We're your nakama!" Argued Natsu. "We trust each other; to throw away your life is to throw away your nakama's trust! Everyone's life is precious and-!"

"Save it," Lucy cut across, "I've heard it all before. This time, listen to what I have to say, since you clearly didn't get it last time; you guys don't see the dark side of life. You may all have had bad things happen to you in your youth, but those are tragedies. They are brief, and leave their scars, but they aren't there every day, looming over your shoulder and making you look around in fear. You haven't lived on the streets, cold and hungry, and in fear of the people surrounding you; people who look ordinary, but could just as well turn around and decide to hurt you."

Natsu opened his mouth to speak, but Lucy wasn't done yet.

"You guys think that every soul is pure and that everything, and everyone, can be forgiven; but there are things in life that you just _can't _forgive. Sometimes, you have to dabble in the dark to set things right. And sometimes, you have to make choices that are deemed completely wrong by other people, but that's just their point of view. I've made choices in my life that I regret, yes, but I know that I do those things for a reason, not just because I can, or because I think it's right – according to other people."

"What does this have to do with you trying to kill yourself?" Gray demanded.

Lucy's mouth twisted down unhappily. "I have no fear of death, it's merely another choice in life. I wasn't allowed to choose the first time, but I damn well will this time 'round, that's for sure."

Just as Mirajane was about to question the odd sentence – it seemed familiar – a massive thundering rumble echoed below their feet, the guild rocking with the movement.

Everyone's ears metaphorically picked up as they looked around, waiting for whatever had caused the minor earthquake to appear.

Lucy directed a small knowing smile towards her three guildmates crowded around her bed. Her now bounded forehead crinkled lightly. "Looks like we have an uninvited guest, hm?"

* * *

**That was an odd chapter, hm?**

**Just to clear things up right now though; Lucy's not all suicidal and shit. She just accepts death and has no fear of it – she's already died once, what's another time around? And the reason that she thought she'd die was that she hadn't expected Natsu to come after her. That shows how much she distrusts people. YAY!**

**I'll see you guys soon, I hope. I'm going to be doing a lot of spring cleaning though, on all of my stories.**

**Ciao.**


	17. Super Mage Giant-OH WHO REALLY CARES!

**Okay guys, I was literally going to do a Christmas Special for this, but as I was writing it I just kind of went…I really don't care. This is pointless, I just really want to continue the normal storyline, and I'm already too stressed over **_**Red Gloved Hands.**_

**On that note, for those who read that story…I NEED YOUR HELP! The reason I didn't update it is because I have nothing on the next chapter except for some meandering of words that were basically already the storyline. **

**I don't know what direction that story should take, and I'm feeling really mad about it. I know exactly how Lucy should be brought back to life, and I know that Natsu would realise his feelings for her much faster than in the show, and I know that Lucy would be so much stronger physically, but be so much more torn up and scarred emotionally – but I don't know how to put it together! If anyone has any suggestions, please PM me; I really do need help, or I'm just finishing the story with a brief overview of what the story would be like without Lucy. (Which would be interesting, but that's really not what you guys want…I'll put up a poll to see what I should do, so go have a look at it and vote please).**

**With that all said and done, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_Even my story doesn't have as much angst and pain as the newest chapters of FT! I also don't own AVPS._

**Warning: **_Lots of fighting and swearing – this is where shit gets real – and sarcastic comments placed in the strangest of places. It also jumps a lot in P.O.V. which was a bit of an error on my behalf. Sorry._

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

As the Fairy Tail mages panicked and streamed outside to see what was causing their guild to shake (well, the ones that could move), Lucy slowly got out of the hospital bed, seemingly unconcerned by the whole situation.

"You should get back in bed," one of the bedridden Fairies spoke up, rolling his eyes towards the hobbling form of Lucy since his neck was currently bandaged tightly. "You're injured, and Mira will have my hind if you injure yourself, let alone Natsu or Gray."

"Please," Lucy scoffed, not pausing her awkward, dragging walk towards the door of the infirmary. "As if they would be thinking about me at this moment; we currently have bigger problems. Like, say," she drawled, "disposing of Phantom Lord once and for all."

The wicked grin plastered across her face gave shivers down many of the injured Fairies.

"Oh, Mavis…" breathed Erza, staring up in shock and horror at the monstrosity that was once the Phantom Lord guild. It towered over their own guild, making every Fairy there feel insignificant.

As many Fairy Tail mages were beginning to become accustomed by the massive structure actually _standing above _the mass of water near their guild, there came a crackle of static before the familiar, sickening voice of Jose was blared across to them from the Phantom Lord guild.

"**FAIRY SCUM! I'M NOT HERE TO WASTE EITHER OF OUR TIME, SO I'LL MAKE THIS SHORT; GIVE ME LUCY HEARTIFILIA, OR WATCH YOUR GUILD CRUMBLE INTO DUST UNDER PHANTOM LORD'S MIGHT!"**

"LIKE HELL!" roared out Natsu in reply. He clenched his fists tightly by his side, trying not to burst into flames in rage, lest he burnt Erza and Gray who were standing by his side. "LUCY IS OUR NAKAMA, AND THERE'S NO WAY THAT YOU'LL TAKE HER FROM US!"

A roar of agreement came from his fellow guildmates, nearly making the ground shake by their intensity.

Mirajane stood at the back of the crowd of her nakama, hands clasped tightly to her chest in anxiety. She watched all of her loved ones fight for one of their own, and wished that she could do something to help them. Anything!

Suddenly, a thought popped into her head. One so crazy that it just might work. Lucy was currently bedridden inside the guild, but Jose didn't know that. If she could just transform into Luc—

"HEY, JOSE, YOU BASTARD!"

Collectively, everyone's attention turned to the entrance of the Fairy Tail guild, only to be met with the sad sight of a rather bruised and bandaged Lucy leaning heavily against the doorframe. Her usual dark pants were torn and fluttered around her booted feet in a rather sad way. Her hair was a mess of gnarls and blood, and she currently didn't have a top on; the bed sheet from the hospital bed had been knotted and twisted together in a genius way to create a tope over her bandaged chest. And bandaged arms. And bandaged back. And—

Well, you get the picture; Lucy was a bruised and bandaged mess that glared defiantly up at the Phantom Lord guild, key chain clutched tightly in her hands which had been unshackled by Mirajane before she had hurried out behind everyone.

"**Ah, Miss Heartifilia," **Jose purred over the loudspeaker, **"I was wondering when you'd join us. I'm so glad****that you managed to survive your little…shall we say…**_**fall**_**."**

At this, Natsu let out a low, terrifying growl, struggling more than ever to retain a somewhat normal temperature for him. "That absolute _bastard…!_"

"**Otherwise," **continued Jose, **"you wouldn't be able to see me reduce your precious guild into a pile of rubble, and any fantasy of your having any freedom at all to ashes."**

Lucy flinched at the last part, betraying some of fear, but she quickly pulled herself back together to continue her conquest of glaring Jose's guild into dust. "I've said it once, but I'll say it again, Jose; you're ridiculously cliché and it isn't impressing me one bit." The blonde then had the audacity (or stupid bravery) to buff her right hand nails against her makeshift top, a bored expression plastered on her face. "I could go into a massive speech on how a guild is made up of the nakama and their memories, not some building, but I don't think we have enough time to stand around and talk shit about each other."

Lucy then straightened up, a determined and fiery look replacing her previously mockingly bored one. She thrust a hand out to point at the helm of the guild, unknowingly locking gazes with an enraged Jose as she pointed a finger at him. "I'm going to come up there, and beat your fucking punk ass into the ground before peeling it back off to wave like a fucking flag from the top of my apartment. But not before I tear out your pussy moustache hair by hair and light your oily hair on fire! Then I'll pull out your beady eyes and take a fuckload of joy in melting them in a vat of acid as I cut out your lying, thieving, slimy tongue into little pieces and shove it down your throat!"

"Holy fuck…" Gray muttered as Lucy went through several gruesome and graphic threats that had many guildmembers gagging and flinching. "She's snapped."

"So prepare yourself, Jose!" Lucy bellowed out. "Since I'm coming for you and your blood!"

There was brief moment of silence throughout the surrounding area as Jose seemed to mull over what Lucy had said. Then a crackle of static signalled that the vile man was about to speak again.

"**Interesting, Heartifilia. Very interesting. Such bravado in the face of yours and your guildmates doom. Will such spunk last as you face your death, hm?"**

Jose then burst into harsh laughter that squealed and scratched through the loudspeaker, creating the backdrop for the ominous clanking and grinding of gears that omitted from the giant structure in the water.

"Oh fuck. Oh fuck. _OhsweetKamiandJashin-samafuck!_" Lucy cursed under her breath, limping forwards to push past her nakama. She brushed past a rather concerned Elfman to stand next to Erza, eyes locked onto the massive canon that was slowly being unsheathed from the innards of the guild. "Erza," the redhead jerked at the sound of her name, turning with surprise to see the injured Lucy standing beside her. "Lucy, you shouldn't be—!"

"That's Jupiter," Lucy cut across her, that single comment causing Erza's to widen in horror. "Yep, the canon that can destroy buildings and reduces lands to rubble; and it's pointing right towards us. We need to move!"

Nodding in acknowledgement to Lucy, Erza raised her voice to be heard over the Jupiter Canon movements. "EVERYONE, MOVE! THAT CANON IS ABOUT TO FIRE! MOVE RIGHT NOW!"

At hearing the panic in the usually unfazed Erza's voice, the collected Fairy Tail mages wisely scattered to the sides, fleeing to the safety of nearby trees and hoping that they wouldn't be hit.

"Damn it all!" Lucy suddenly burst out, shocking several people nearby as they realised that she was remaining right next to Erza in the centre of the canon's blast range. "The injured in the guild; we have to get them out before they're fried!"

Without waiting for Erza to react, the blonde began barking orders out to a few of the guildmembers nearby, instructing them on getting them out.

Suddenly realising what Lucy was getting at, Erza rounded on the girl with fury pumping out from every pore. "That's out guild, Lucy! We can't abandon it!"

Uncaring of the older girl's words, Lucy merely crossed her bandaged arms in answer and sent Erza an unimpressed look. "Would you rather human bones get obliterated and skin get melted than wood and nails?"

At those words, Erza shuddered in answer and turned to encourage the other Fairies to get the injured out as quickly as possible. Only, her words were drowned out by the horrible hum of magic being powered up.

Stiffly turning back to face the darkly glowing light of Jupiters' might, Erza only had enough time to shove Lucy behind her and requip into her strongest armour: Adamantine. She raised the two halves of the armours' shield up and managed to join it together before Jupiter shot out its attack straight at her.

It hit with a great crack, not unlike thunder, sending Erza sliding back into Lucy's curled up form.

The blonde jerked her head up to stare in shock at Erza's trembling back, cringing all the while at the powerful sensation of the Jupiter being diverted around her to clip the edges of the guild behind her. It was thankfully empty now, not that Lucy knew it, as the last few mages managed to scurry out of the way and join their fellow mages in watching one of their greatest mages struggle to hold back the terrifying might of Jupiter.

On the side, Gray struggled alongside Elfman to hold Natsu from running to protect Erza, none of them noticing Lucy struggle to her knees behind Erza, as she was blocked from sight by the streams of magical energy passing by her.

'She's not as prepared as she was in the series,' Lucy thought hysterically to herself, completely overwhelmed by the whole situation. 'Her feet are slipping and her guard isn't strong enough. If she hadn't had to push me aside…' The blonde bit her lip in anguish before beginning to draw on as much magical energy as she could muster.

Thankfully, her physical condition had no contribution to her magical wellbeing, as she was battered on the outside, but fresh on the inside from only summoning one key today; it was more than enough to help her out here.

Pushing forwards to press against the struggling the struggling Titania's armoured back, Lucy pushed as much magic as she could outside of her body to manifest in a golden haze. It caused her teeth to chatter in exhaustion, and sweat to dribble into her eyes from strain, but she continued to exclude her holy magic in an abundance.

"I'm sorry…Erza…" the girl managed to breathe out before she yanked Erza away from Jupiter and tossed her to the side to tumble into Natsu's feet, trembling in exhaustion.

Unthinkingly, Natsu instantly stopped all resistance to Elfman and Gray to drop to his knees and gather the exhausted Erza up into his arms. He didn't notice Elfman and Gray didn't fight him at all, or that their attention was barely on Erza and her wellbeing.

They were more focused on the blinding, golden mass that was once Lucy Heartiflia.

* * *

Jose's expression went from impressed to shocked to gleeful to enraged in a matter of seconds as he watched Titania stand against the might of his canon **(A/N: HAHAHAHAHA! Canon! HAHAHAHAHA, I'M SO PERVERTED!)**, then Heartifilia pushing her aside to sacrifice herself. But…but…

Wasn't Heartifilia meant to be destroyed along with her guild from his magical power, not stand there defiantly in a blaze of golden magic?

The brat's own magic had pooled itself around her and formed a solid wall to divert the Jupiter beam to either side, much like Titania. Sure, it looked like it was costing her every drop of magic since Jose could see her trembling from even up in his guild. And it seemed like she would drop any second, but Jose knew that the Jupiter Canon didn't have much juice left in it before it shut down to power up again.

Not enough to destroy Heartifilia before she could weather through the shitstorm that was Jupiter.

* * *

In hindsight, Lucy had to agree that this wasn't one of her more genius ideas.

In fact, it didn't even get anywhere near the top ten, let alone the top twenty or thirty.

This was a terrible, awful, foolish idea that she hoped would end soon as her magic was nearly gone and it felt like she was either going to be sick or spontaneously combust into hundreds of lovely little Lucy pieces that would proceed to rain down on everyone's surprised faces as Jose laughed in triumph and everything that she had worked for in the past year would be for nothing.

Well, at that thought, Lucy straightened her spine and reaffirmed her belief in what she was doing was _right. _It may hurt now, and even tomorrow, but it wouldn't hurt everyone around her in the long run, and that was all that mattered.

So, taking in a deep breath and digging her feet firmly into the ground that cracked and crumbled under her feet from the opposing forces of her magic and Jupiter's, Lucy managed to weather the mess that was Jose's 'secret weapon.'

At the end of it, as Jupiter's beam petered out and disappeared completely, Lucy managed to drop her magical barrier and shakily put the finger up at Jose before she stumbled forwards to fall on her knees in the broken ground, smoke curling off her softly.

"Jesus fucking Christ," the blonde groaned out as she tried to push herself to her feet through her physical and magical exhaustion. "This is the last time I jump in front of a magical attack so callously…" Lucy ignored the yells and shouts around her as she began to drag herself forwards and into a somewhat upright position. She then shuffled forwards, loping at an uneven pace to make her way to the water's edge.

Golden magic still pulsed around her hands and arms as Lucy dragged a key from her pouch, grinning viciously at her own reflection in the water. She then raised her voice loud enough for everyone to hear, amusement audible in her words. "TIME TO LET AN OLD FACE JOIN THIS PARTY!" Shoving the golden key into the water and twisting it to unlock the giant magic circle that had appeared on the surface of the water, Lucy released the last bit of her magic, trembling as she did so. "OPEN! GATE OF THE WATER BEARER: AQUARIUS!"

An all-too-cheerful chime rung out, signifying the entrance of one of the more powerful zodiac keys, and Aquarius emerged from the water's depths with a magnificent display of a water show. It was ruined, though, when she rounded on Lucy. "I WAS ON A DATE, BRAT! HOW DARE YOU SUMMON ME!" The mermaid seemed to recognise Lucy's current condition and stopped the massive rant that she was about to blast at her. "What the hell happened to you?"

Lucy held up a hand in answer, asking for a moment as she struggled to get enough oxygen into her lungs. That last push of magic had taken her breath away and made her drop to her knees on the concrete by the water. She was struggling to keep her eyes open as she made eye contact with Aquarius, but there was a deep fire burning in the dark orbs that let the spirit know that she was still fighting. "A bastard thought that he could take me and you guys, my spirits. I just summoned you here to prove him wrong."

"Oh?" Aquarius hummed dangerously, turning to stare angrily up at the ugly structure currently standing in _her_ domain! "Well, I should only demonstrate my power out of…_courtesy._" A wicked grin crossed Aquarius's face as she lifted her urn over her head. "Do you want me to blow them away?"

"Not quite," Lucy answered as she pulled herself up stiffly to stand beside Aquarius. "Knock 'em around a bit, but aim for the canon there." Lucy pointed out the Jupiter Canon that was slowly being powered up again as Jose crowed out death threats, seemingly passing over the fact that Lucy was up and standing and was about to fight back. "I think you can wash out a few rats there if you aimed for it."

A dark aura seemed to hover around Aquarius as she raised her urn and began twirling it around in an almost dance-like style. "Excellent. This will be my pleasure, brat."

Lucy nodded back before hurrying backwards as quickly as possible; she didn't want to get caught up in Aquarius's attack, they always hurt like a bitch.

Much to everyone watching, both Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord, Lucy was up and standing. What was even more surprising, though, was the fact that she had managed to summon a spirit; especially Aquarius (several Fairy Tail members shivered at the memory of the times Lucy had summoned Aquarius in the guild). And to top the whole thing off, everyone's jaw dropped as Aquarius began to manipulate the water to her will.

It wasn't the usual swarming mass of waves that she normally tossed around, uncaring if anyone got caught up in it. No. This was a careful manipulation of water that showed just how powerful she was with her element.

The water began by swirling around Phantom Lord guild's legs, creating almost a whirlpool. The whole building wavered on its spider-like legs, struggling to stand strong against the funnel beneath its feet. Then, water started to rise in front of the structure. It curled and spun together to form a graceful pillar that moved exactly like a snake.

The water bunched up at the top, eye-level with the Jupiter Canon, before it snapped forwards in a spray of water that had people below flinching at the sudden downpour. It funnelled its way through the canon, making it rumble and roar from the pressure. Several dents appeared in the metalwork as water streamed through at a ridiculous rate.

Aquarius turned with an unusually serene expression to Lucy, letting the waterworks slowly die down, and leaving the guild wobbling and tottering on its feet. "My work is done here." She left in a flash of gold to the symphony of people screaming from the innards of the guild as they were met with a mass of water that dragged them through the halls and shattered windows as they went, throwing several people out into the water hundreds of metres below.

"That's my spirit," Lucy remarked tiredly but proudly as she took in the astounding sight.

A sudden call of her name had her turning to meet the sight of Erza, Natsu, Gray and Elfman racing towards her, worry etched on their faces.

Natsu put on a burst of speed as he saw Lucy waver slightly on her feet, eyes glazed and rolling in their sockets. "Lucy!" He caught her in his arms as she pitched back, chest pumping as she tried her best to gulp in oxygen.

The pink-haired mage began to freak out as the blonde seemed to hyperventilate, eyes bulging in surprise. "H-hey! Lucy! Lucy, are you okay! C'mon, talk to me!"

"It's her ribs," Gray bit out angrily as he came to a stop beside Natsu, staring down at his female friend as she struggled to breathe. "That idiot pushed herself so hard that they must've moved even more in their broken state. You moron," Gray addressed the next part at Lucy as she began to move about in Natsu's arms and regain her breath. "What the hell were you thinking taking on Jupiter like that?"

"Agreed," Erza spoke up, leaning slightly on Elfman in her usual armour. The Jupiter had taken a lot out of her, even if it hadn't broken through her armour or knocked her to the ground. She knew that if Lucy hadn't pushed her out of the way she would've been obliterated by Jupiter, but it still didn't mean that she was happy. "That was incredibly foolish of you."

Regaining her feet and pushing herself away from Natsu, regardless of his angered expression, Lucy held her head up high as she stared at her guildmates. "Maybe to you, but it was incredibly wise; we need you more in the fights ahead than you need me. It was a tactical decision that I'm sure will come to fruition later on. But for now, you guys should hurry up and head on through the barrel to enter the Phantom guild. I didn't do that whole thing with Aquarius for my amusement, you know? She's just washed away any opposition you'll have there."

The blonde turned to Gray, expression still pinched in pain and fatigue. "Gray, you can form an ice structure to get you guys up there, then hang back to let Elfman take over. He can take down anybody who managed to survive Aquarius's attack with his superior strength."

"MAN!" Elfman roared in agreement. "Taking charge is MANLY!"

As Lucy was about to continue explaining her game plan, Natsu burst into the conversation, still sore over Lucy's easy dismissal of his assistance. "What? Why should Elfman go first? I can fly up with Happy and easily beat whoever the hell's left!"

"No, Natsu," Lucy said shortly, cutting off whatever he was about to say next. "The first opponent up there would be best beaten by Elfman. Totomaru may be a Fire Elemental who isn't as strong in his arts as you," here, Natsu puffed up in pride, "but he literally controls all fire. He would turn it against you. Elfman could easily crush him as long as he dodges his sword; he's not too proficient with it as he is with his magic."

"Don't worry, Lucy," Elfman said strongly, "I'll defeat him! Like a MAN!"

The blonde quietly agreed with him before going on with her plan. "Natsu, you will take on Sol. He's an Earth Elemental that can travel through the ground with his magic, but his attacks mainly focus on liquid earth, which you can harden and stop with the heat of your attacks."

"Yosh!" Natsu burst out, fists lighting up in excitement. "You can count on me!" The boy then turned to look over his shoulder to where Happy was floating, watching then proceedings curiously. "We've got this in the bag, haven't we, Happy?"

"Aye!"

"That's cool and all," Gray said dryly, "but what about me? Who'll I verse?"

"As if you could beat someone, Ice Princess," Natsu laughed. "They'd just stand there and laugh at you and you're—"

"Enough!" Erza snapped out, successfully cowing Natsu into submission. "Let Lucy finish!" Although the redhead was curious and suspicious about how Lucy came across all of this information, she understood that any information was important for helping out the dire situation.

"Thank you, Erza," Lucy said to the girl before looking at Gray. "You'll be taking on Juvia of the Four Seas. She's a powerful Water Elemental, but I think that you can take her easily."

Gray grumbled about the fact that he had to face a girl, but a look from Erza had him falling silent – although he was quite irritated by Natsu's constant snickering, he valued his life more than a satisfying punch to his face.

"Erza, you'll fight Aria, a Wind Elemental," Lucy said to the girl. "He is the most powerful of the Elemental Four, but if you take him out before he can uncover his eyes, you can defeat him."

Erza clenched her fists angrily. "He's the bastard who stole Master's magic; he cannot be forgiven!"

Patting her shoulder comfortingly, Lucy replied sympathetically. "That may be true, but you guys should also wonder about how and why those Phantom Lord members do what they do; you may be surprised by the answers."

Just as Erza was going to ask how she came by such information, Lucy flapped her hands at them, pushing them towards the Phantom Lord guild. "No more time! Go now, before Jupiter is charged up again! To defeat it, you must break the lacrima just inside of the barrel, and defeat the Elemental Four! Now, go!"

"Aye sir!" Natsu roared out as he raced ahead, followed shortly by Erza and Elfman. Gray hung back, though, eyes solemn as he looked at Lucy's battered form. "Are you sure you'll be alright? You've taken a beating today and—"

"I'll be fine Gray," the blonde cut across him softly, "so don't worry about me. Just go and help out your nakama."

The stripping boy looked hesitant as he looked between the blonde and his other friends, before nodding sharply to Lucy and jogging off towards them. "Stay safe."

Lucy smiled a twisted and sour smile. "Of course." _It's not like I won't be captured or targeted or something…_

The girl then let out a groan and rubbed at her tired eyes, wishing that this shit could hurry up and be dealt with so that she could lie down and sleep for twenty years.

But, alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Almost in defiance to Lucy's thoughts, Jose released hordes of Shades that came gliding out of the mad man's guild to attack the Fairies left on the ground.

Cana quickly took charge of the situation, rounding up the mages for a counter-attack to defend themselves and their slightly broken guild. The brunette may be a drunkard, but she was one of the most experienced mages of her generation and was a tactical genius in battle, even more so than Levy, who was the smartest person in the guild.

At seeing the Shades attack, Lucy hurried off to go and collect her sword from its position beside her bed in the guild, but was stopped by a small hand tugging at her own.

Significantly surprised, Lucy stopped and whirled around to be met with the sight of the little, black-haired boy she had rescued from Phantom Lord. He was looking shy and hesitant as he held out her sword for her to take, his red eyes shadowed by his long fringe. "For you, Lucy-san."

Smiling a true smile for what felt like the first time in forever, Lucy stiffly squatted down to the boy's level to take the sword from him. She held in her right hand as the other petted his hair softly, careful not to startle the skittish boy. "Thank you so much. I'm not happy that you risked yourself to get my sword, but I am thankful all the same. Now, why don't you head over to the side and—"

"No!" the boy burst out. He then realised that he had shouted out the protest. A blush worked its way up his cheeks and he ducked his head shyly. "I mean, I want to help." He glanced up at Lucy through his fringe, determination evident in his eyes. "I want to help you, since you helped me escape Phantom Lord…"

A soft crept across Lucy's face. She hesitantly placed her hand under the boy's chin to raise it up to look at her. Her dark eyes met with his own bright ones, and she nodded. "Of course you can. We'll welcome any help that we can get. Especially someone as special as you…Ryos."

The Dragon Slayer flushed lightly. "T-thank you, Lucy-san."

"It's Lucy," the blonde supplied for him as she stood up, smothering a groan of pain. "Just Lucy, little one. Now," she stuck out a hand to him, face reassuring to the shy boy, "let's go kick some butt, ne?"

"R-right!"

* * *

After watching Elfman barrel through all of that weird, flame-dude's attacks and knock him out with an arm transformed into the bulging muscle of a black bull, Erza, Gray, Happy and Natsu raced alongside him to destroy the lacrima that was powering Jupiter.

It broke with surprisingly little effort, and the quartet of humans plus one flying cat wasted no time in racing on ahead through the hallways, intent on completing their missions.

However, they all stopped what they were doing when Jose's voice rung out again, speaking loudly and proudly about how they may have stopped Jupiter, but he had an even greater weapon to destroy them with.

The guild then proceeded to shudder and clank and shift, causing Natsu to collapse to the ground from motion sickness.

"What is going on?" Erza demanded, trying to keep her footing as floors and walls and ceiling shifted and moved about, groaning and squealing in a mad kafuffle of genius architecture. "What on Earthland is happening?"

Unbeknownst to her and the other Fairies inside the guild, Jose had activated a weapon that was so crazy and dangerous that it would easily have him sentenced to death for having it built, let alone initiating it.

His guild had shifted and changed into a large robot-like form that towered over the devastated Fairies outside. One of Its arms rose stiffly and began to write runes in the air with its fingers. Super Mage Giant Phantom MK II was a ridiculously strong unit that was only used to write out the runes for the ultimate spell Abyss Break. The attack would literally wipe away all of whatever was in its path: organic or man-made. Nothing would stand after it activated, and Lucy knew that as she hurried through a mass of Shades, sword swinging as Ryos kept her back covered with several blasts of Shadow Dragon Roar.

"This is ridiculous!" Lucy hissed out angrily, swiping away another Shade that simply reformed again. "Those idiots better hurry up and defeat Juvia and Sol and Aria, or I'll come up there and finish them all!"

Behind her, Ryos shivered slightly at her dangerous tone as he dodged a swipe from a newly reformed Shade. Lucy was really nice, but…_she was absolutely __**terrifying.**_

Finally finding herself by Cana and Mirajane, Lucy blocked an attack heading for the ivory-haired girl and sliced it in half. "Is everyone okay over here?"

"I should be asking the same thing to you," Cana shot back, firing off several rounds of lightning that had Shades dissolving into dark matter. "You look like shit, Lucy-chan."

"Gee," Lucy said dryly, "thanks." The girl finally grew serious, eyes flickering towards the runes slowly being written by the guild-turned-robot even as she decimated another hoard of Shades. "We can't keep fighting these until Jose is distracted; what can we do?"

"I don't fucking know!" Cana huffed, beginning to get testy after destroying so many Shades, only for them to come right back at her. "Why don't you go and fix it!"

"Gray's stairs have melted and I don't have any way to get up into the fucking robot!" Lucy growled out angrily. "This is so fucking troublesome!"

Mirajane, hefting a plank of wood from the guild, bashed a Shade into the ground before turning a concerned eye onto Lucy. "I think we should get you away from here, Lucy. I don't know why, but Jose seems to be going after you. So if I—"

"Mira, I am not being knocked out and transported to a safe house. Think of something else, sweetheart, since there's no way you're getting me away from here."

Mirajane blinked in surprise at Lucy's casual dismissal of her plan – how had she known what her plan had been? – before reluctantly nodding. "Okay, Lucy."

"So what now?" Ryos spoke up from his position guarding Lucy's back, his innocently inquisitive expression melting Mirajane's heart. She had already met the young boy earlier that day; Erza had come racing in with the others, talking about how Master was sick and Lucy had disappeared. What had surprised Mira the most, though, was how Erza carried a small boy in her arms, one that she had never seen before.

Of course, she had quizzed the redhead, and was surprised to find that Lucy was the one who had snatched the boy up. She hadn't explained why, really, but mostly said that the small boy named Ryos was a Dragon Slayer. And according to Ryos himself, a Shadow Dragon Slayer.

Most of the Fairies had been wary of letting the Phantom boy in, but Ryos had quickly soothed that problem by informing everyone that he hadn't actually joined Phantom yet; he was too much of a brat and a weakling by their standards (something that had made Mirajane's heart go out to him). In fact, the only ones who spoke to him was Juvia and Gajeel, and neither of their relationship was exactly friendship material.

Juvia mostly ignored the boy as she had no idea what to do with small children, and even then, she was always off on missions, so it wasn't like she could spend much time with him anyways.

As for Ryos' relationship with Gajeel…well, it wasn't an awkward shuffle of student and teacher. Only, with a lot more cursing and gruff putdowns than much teachings.

The deal between them was that Gajeel would help Ryos get better at his Shadow Magic by teaching him the basics of Dragon Slaying magic itself, while Ryos would teach him a thing or two about Shadow Dragon Slaying magic.

It was an awkward and fear-filled relationship at best, and Ryos was more than happy to abandon it if it meant that he would be able to start anew at Fairy Tail, where people and relationships mattered.

Loudly, Cana interrupted Mirajane's thoughts as she tossed several cards into Shades, watching with vindictive glee as they exploded. "We can't keep fighting these Shades, and we can't get up there. So…what now?"

Luckily, or ridiculously unluckily, if you looked at it a certain way, the Super Mage Giant Phantom MK II took this chance to disengage one hand from writing runes and reach down to snatch up Lucy, who only had Ryos shout of surprise to warn her of what was happening.

Of course, that wasn't enough to let her escape from being picked up by a giant hand and nearly crushed, but it was the thought that counted.

There were several shouts of her name from nearby Fairies as Lucy was picked up in a crushing grip, struggling futilely as her hands were crushed to her side, along with her sword.

"Fuck!" the blonde cursed, squirming against her restraints. "Double fuck!"

That was the last the Fairies heard of her before she was tossed into a hatch near the top of the robot, disappearing without a sound into the darkness of the robot's head.

Many Fairies could only stare in numb shock at the area where one of their nakama had disappeared. Ryos was the only one who shouted out her name again, his little voice thin and high through the sounds of ongoing battles.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the Super Mage Giant Phantom yadda, yadda, yadda, Natsu had finally met up with his opponent after several minutes of dashing through abandoned and very wet hallways, chasing after the scent of earth and other underground things that had led him to the very creepy man he was facing alongside Elfman and Happy (but of course Happy was off to the side as Natsu didn't want him to be injured by some idiot who could move some earth around).

Both Gray and Erza had parted their ways after a few moments of running, seemingly searching for their own opponents, so it just left one fired up Natsu and a determined Elfman to face the creepy, twisted and monocle'd visage that was Sol.

The man spoke in a distinctive French accent that was much too delighted in the face of versing strong enemies, and his smile made the Fairies skin crawl. Ugh…

"Ooo~! What do we have here? Two Fairies? Non, non, non! Two Fairies to crush!" The man swooned in happiness, sending very strange signals to Natsu and Elfman.

"The hell is wrong with this guy?" Natsu muttered to Elfman, watching with wide eyes as the man stretched and twisted his way around a pillar in the hallway they were in. "That's unnatural."

"Ah, non, non, non," the man crooned. "This is merely my magic; Monsieur Sol's magic! _Salute_!" The man swayed from side to side, feet melded into the ground beneath him. "We are to battle now, oui! I am versing Elfman-sama and Natsu-sama, oui?"

Natsu slammed a hand into a clenched fist in answer, sharp incisors shown in his excited grin. "I don't know about this mongoose or whatever, but I do know that I'm about to kick your ass!" And before Sol could continue to talk, Natsu dashed forwards, hands already lit up with his customary flames.

But, even though Natsu tossed some of his best acrobatic moves at the weird, French guy, the man easily twisted his body at ridiculous degrees to dodge, or even melted into the ground to appear metres away from where he had started, sometimes even up in the walls or ceiling.

"Stay still, damn you!" Natsu snarled out as he shot out a roar of flames, the man's disappearing act starting to get to him. "I just want to burn you to crisp so that I can go and beat up Gajeel!"

At this, Sol stopped moving, head twisted to the side as he scrutinised Natsu with a pleased look plastered on his face. "Ah, non, non, non. Gajeel-sama is quite busy at the moment. He cannot be disturbed."

"But fighting is MANLY!" Elfman roared out, hands clenched in excitement. "Nothing is manlier than two men fighting their problems out! Oohh, it makes my blood boil!"

Ah, _cible_," Sol sighed melodramatically, "I'm afraid Gajeel-sama is very busy entertaining our…_guest._" The man then snickered a very dark and twisted laugh as the twirled his body around. "Mademoiselle Lucy is probably having a _delightful _time!"

"Lucy…?" Natsu muttered to himself before the dots linked up and his anger burst out in a flurry of flames. "What have you done to Lucy?!"

"Non, non, non," said Sol, "not I, but Gajeel-sama." He then twirled his moustache with one hand as the other waved in patterns that neither Elfman nor Natsu could pick out. "Earth Statues…"

In response to Sol's actions, the ground beneath him began to bulge and twist, and it soon wasn't long before an exact copy of Lucy, made entirely out of earth, stood before them.

"Help me…" Earth Lucy rasped out, her voice sounding like her own, only with the undertone of two rocks rubbing against each other. "The pain…it's too much." The earthen girl then slumped to the ground, hands and feet bound together. Another mound of earth arose in front of her, shifting to don the image of a grinning Gajeel.

Earth Gajeel began kicking Lucy absently, seemingly scrutinising her determined expression as he kicked her in different places. The earth clone than laughed his distinctive laugh and morphed his hand into a club that he began swinging into Lucy, eliciting sharp screams of pain from the Earth Lucy.

"What is this…" Elfman ground out, unable to take his eyes away from the mocking spectacle of Lucy getting beaten up by Gajeel. Even if they were clones, it looked ridiculously real.

Beside him, Natsu just steamed, trying to convince himself that Lucy wouldn't get captured and that this was just a stupid trick to deceive him.

Well, he wouldn't fall for it!

"I see you aren't feeling enough pain," Sol sighed sadly, "I guess I shall have to kick it up a notch."

And then, much to Elfman and Natsu's horror, Lucy and Gajeel were replaced by a very familiar face that stared blankly at them, her usually distinctive blue eyes the same shade of brown as the rest of her body.

"Why'd you let me die?" Earth Lisanna whispered. "Why, Elf-nii, Natsu? Why did you kill me?"

* * *

As Natsu and Elfman were met with their past, both Gray and Erza had met up with their own opponents.

But, really, there wasn't a change in those battles, so I think we'll skip them and see how Lucy's going.

* * *

Not well.

Not well at all.

Upon rolling to a stop from being tossed into the dark hatch by the Giant Phantom thingamajig, Lucy was pounced on by a bunch of Phantoms and bound by chains. Her sword was taken away from her and tossed in the corner, but it wasn't like she could wield it anyway, what with her wrists being shackled together. Not to mention her ankles being bound together and then chained to the wall so that she couldn't get away.

"Well, isn't this flattering," Lucy said dryly to no one as she struggled to sit in a position that wouldn't have her chains rubbing against her uncomfortably. "So many chains and bling for me; how kind of you."

"Gihihi," a voice laughed out, echoing through the dank, stone room she was in, "there's the spunk I wanted to see."

"Oh, how melodramatic of you, Gajeel," Lucy said, rolling her eyes at the dark-haired man who had emerged from the shadows of the room to stand in front of her. "I thought better of you, Black Steel."

Gajeel laughed again, the sound causing his guildmates to flinch slightly. Not like he noticed. "So you've heard of me. Would it surprise you if I said I had heard of you too?"

Instead of replying, Lucy shrugged uncaringly, making Gajeel frown slightly. "Of course it wouldn't; nothing surprises the Celestial Maiden, The Defeater of Wyverns and Fate's Fortunate." Gajeel chuckled again, his eyes gleaming hungrily. "Of course, that's nothing compared to what else you're known as; Lucky Lucy Heartifilia, heiress to the Heartifilia Konzen!"

The dramatic reveal was ruined by Lucy fake gasping, tugging her chained hands up to cover her mouth in mocking shock. "What? I'm a heiress? No way! I so didn't know that!" The blonde dropped her hands and gave Gajeel and deadpan expression. "You can cut the dramatic crap, Gajeel. It's unbecoming of you and I'm going to give a sarcastic answer every time you say something like that, so don't even try."

The Dragon Slayer shrugged, his mouth twisted in amusement. "You're an interesting one, Heartifilia."

"I try very hard, Redfox."

"You do know that I'm about to take great pleasure in hurting you, just so I can get Dragneel fired up as fuck so that I can beat him, yeah?"

"Oh, so totally. But don't count on Natsu getting very fired up. It would've been much better to get one of the other guild girls, or even boys. I'm not very important to Natsu, especially compared to those that he has spent years growing up with." Lucy tossed her red-tipped hair, somehow looking composed in a bed sheet, torn pants and chains. "Bit of an error on your side, you know?"

"Please," Gajeel sneered at her, "that weirdo Sol may seem like an idiot, but he's good at finding out things. He's observed that Dragneel is unnaturally attached to you, going so far as climbing in your apartment at night to sleep with you."

"Huh," Lucy said absently to herself, "I thought I felt a different magical signature around my house recently." The girl seemingly shrugged such a matter off, fixing her gaze back onto Gajeel. "Ah well," she remarked easily, "seems like his information is wrong. Natsu is ten times more attached to the likes of Erza and Gray than me. But don't worry," the girl gushed, "everybody makes mistakes."

Kicking at the ground, Gajeel stalked forwards with a grin. "Yeah, and your mistake is getting captured today. I'mma 'bout to have some fun with you."

A snort of laughter came from Lucy, pulling Gajeel short. "What are you—Oh, really? Mature one aren't you?"

A giggle escaped Lucy's lips at Gajeel's grumpy expression as he changed his entire arm into a metal rod. "Oh no, Redfox, please don't stick me with your rod!" She then flushed a light pink as giggled away, seemingly mortified and amused by her own comment.

"You're a fucking idiot," Gajeel sighed as he changed his arm back into its usual state of fleshiness. What? There was no way he was going to use that attack now that she said that. Instead, he drew out several knives that he had kept at the ready for this opportunity.

At seeing them, Lucy fell silent, eyes now sharp as the knives that Gajeel tossed absently in his hands, grin wolfish and predatory. "Ah, not so tough now, aren't you, Heartifilia?"

"Gajeel…" One of the Phantom's nearby spoke up hesitantly. She wanted to show Fairy Tail who was boss, but this…this was going too far.

"Oh, it's alright, sweetie," Lucy spoke up, surprising the Phantom girl. "I'm not scared."

A thud beside her right ear had her stilling. She could see the hilt of a knife in the corner of her vision, close enough to make her nervous.

"So close," Gajeel smirked, "wonder what'll happen if my hand…slips?"

* * *

Elfman lost it.

There was really no other way to put it.

Natsu hadn't seen him so distraught since…well, since Lisanna had died.

And now Elfman was trapped inside the memory of killing Lisanna after attempting to go fully into a Beast Soul Take Over and Natsu was faced with dozens of Earth Lissana's that were attempting to kill him while bringing up bad memories; this was not a fun day for Natsu.

Especially since he couldn't stop thinking about how Lucy could currently be kidnapped by Gajeel and was being beaten by the bastard.

He had to wrap this up now, or else Lucy could but hurt really badly!

Smashing through a bunch of Earth Lissana's and dodging several earth structures that were flung towards him from Sol, Natsu finally managed to clip the annoying man, sending him careening back to smash into the wall. Surprisingly enough, he broke through the wall and nearly toppled off of the robot, if only he hadn't melded his feet with the ground to stop. Even so, it would take him a while to find a good handhold to pull himself up.

Even more surprising, though, was the sight of Mirajane being clenched in one of the robot's hand just outside.

"Mirajane!" Natsu shouted, shocked at seeing one of his nakama captured. "Are you alright?"

The white-haired girl managed to jerk her head over to look at the boy, visibly struggling against the hand holding her. "I'm alright, Natsu. I attempted to transform in Lucy to trick Jose, but he saw right through me." The girl broke off with a gasp as the hand tightened, squeezing her tightly.

"Mira!" bellowed Natsu, moving to go and save her, only to be stopped by the girl's furious head shaking.

"No, Natsu. I'm alright. You have to go and save Lucy, though."

Natsu felt his blood run cold. "Lucy…what happened to her? Mira, where's Lucy?!"

Coughing lightly, Mirajane replied in a whisper. "Jose's captured her. She's in the topmost part of this thing. Go and save her, Natsu. She may seem so strong, but even someone like Lucy needs to be saved every once in a while."

"Right!" Jerking his head up, Natsu turned on his heel and raced away, calling for Happy.

He barely noticed Elfman breaking out of whatever spell he was on and finding Mirajane captured by Sol. He barely heard Elfman transform and absolutely decimate Sol to save his sister. He barely felt the Super Mage Giant Phantom MK II stop writing the runes for Abyss Break, since all of its power sources had been defeated. All he heard was the whistling of wind in his ears as Happy flew him through the corridors to go and save Lucy.

Of course, he did meet some obstacles in the way, but they seemed to have mostly been cleared by Gray and Erza, and they were easily dealt by a flaming fist or leg. He even managed to catch the sight of Gray with some blue-haired chick down some corridor, but he ignored it.

Natsu barely even slowed to check on Erza as she stood over a large man's form, tired, but well in her victory over Aria.

All he could think of was Lucy and her wellbeing.

* * *

Up in his lair, Jose steeped his fingers as he watched his Shades destroy those blasted Fairies' guild. He took a lot of pleasure in hearing their screams of emotional agony at every hit that was landed on that pitiful barn. But it was merely just the topping for his sweet, sweet victory of successfully nabbing that brat Lucy Heartifilia.

Gajeel had radioed in before, telling Jose that he had captured Heartifilia and she was currently being held in his beautiful Super Mage Giant Phantom MK II.

(And no matter what anyone said, Jose did _not _dance for joy at hearing this).

Jose had responded that Gajeel had to guard Heartifilia until they made their getaway, but that wouldn't happen until Fairy Tail was broken into millions of pieces at his feet. He had also told Gajeel that anything but death was free game when it came to the bitches' wellbeing – something that made Gajeel a very happy man.

Quite pleased about how things were going, Jose turned his loudspeaker back on and began to talk to it – gloating a bit would make everything ten times better.

"Fairy scum, I'm afraid that we won't be able to spend much more time together. Your guild is almost finished and I have won! Lucy Heartifilia has been captured and there's nothing else you can do to save her! In fact, I'll let her give you one last scream goodbye before she leaves."

Expecting to hear the girl's pitiful screams when Jose patched Gajeel's link through to the loudspeaker, Jose was more than surprised by what actually came through.

The first speaker was obviously Gajeel, dark, deep and sneering. _"So close, wonder what happens when my hand…slips?"_

The next voice was Lucy, judging by the higher voice and feminine tone. But she wasn't hysterically speaking in shrill tones like Jose was expecting (hoping). Nope, she was decidedly casual as she replied. _"You cut your hand? Hopefully?"_

"_You still being a smartass with me? I'll throw this next knife to spear that silver tongue of yours. Then we'll see how well you can talk then." _Gajeel's voice was gruffer than usual in anger, grating harshly through the loudspeaker system and making Jose wince at the controls when Gajeel's voice made the sound pitch and squeak irritably.

His wince turned into a scowl when Lucy laughed. Actually _laughed_, at Gajeels' threats.

_Try me, oh great Gajeel."_

A thud was heard over the link, and Jose took great pleasure in seeing many Fairies on the ground outside wince and scream at the sound. Oh yes, now Gajeel was showing a great example of Phantom's might. He was sure that the idiot was torturing the girl and was about to make her scream—

"_Gajeel can't throw! Gajeel can't throw! Gajeel cannot throw! He only eats metal and cannot throw, even if he's reading a how-to-throw book!" _Lucy barked out another round of laughter after her mocking song, sounding amused by the whole situation.

Jose quickly cut the connection before he could be humiliated anymore.

He asked one thing from Gajeel. _One thing! _Just that he make Heartifilia scream and pay for her insolence.

"Why can't I ever find good minions?" Jose sighed, before he remembered that the loudspeaker was still on and that everyone had heard what he said.

Freaking out, he scrambled for the off button, fumbling it several ti

* * *

mes before he managed to cut it off with a sharp click.

"Oh, fuck…" Jose muttered to himself. "I need a drink."

Inside of Jose's Super Mage Giant—oh who really gives a fuck!—Natsu was still racing towards where he hoped Lucy was, guided and powered by Happy's wings.

It was just his bad luck that he couldn't hear the whole situation over the loudspeaker as he was currently smashing through several stone ceilings in succession to get to the top of the robot as quickly as possible. Otherwise, he wouldn't be freaking out so much on Lucy's health – she was doing a pretty good job of surviving so far.

* * *

"Maybe this'll be the one to hit you this time 'round," Gajeel remarked as he tossed another knife at Lucy.

This one joined four other around Lucy, all of them causing small nicks on her body that blood slowly seeped out of. The newest one sliced through her hairline and cut off several hairs, also making blood trickle down her forehead.

For her credit, Lucy had seemed barely fazed by the knives being tossed at her, only jumping slightly whenever they hit their mark. Her lips were pursed in concentration and thought as Gajeel hefted another knife in his hands.

This time, he didn't dawdle, instead, tossing it immediately at the blonde. This one wasn't aimed to barely miss this time around. This time, it was directed right at her chest.

The Phantom Lord members watching cried out in surprise, but immediately fell silent as Lucy flashed a manacled hand up to catch the knife before it hit her chest.

The girl's eyes were frosty as she clenched the blade, seemingly uncaring of the fact that lots of blood was trickling its way from between her fingers. "It seems like you missed again, Gajeel."

The boy snarled back, his frustration and anger of not being able to scare her was starting to cloud his judgement. Jose had told him that she wasn't allowed to die, but everything else was free game; surely she would've survived a knife to the heart, right?

"You know, Gajeel," Lucy spoke up, rousing the Dragon Slayer from his thoughts. "In another few minutes, I'll have enough magical energy to summon one of my keys." The girl wiggled slightly, making the keys tucked into her pants jingle lightly. "Then you're going to get fucked over and I'm going to laugh my fucking ass off."

"Not likely," Gajeel sneered back. "Not if I take your precious keys off you." Stalking forwards, the Phantom mage picked Lucy up by her throat, intent on pulling the keys right out of her pants.

Of course, he didn't account for Lucy flipping the knife around in her hand and stabbing it into his shoulder.

Letting out a pained howl, Gajeel dropped the girl and stumbled back, clawing at the knife stuck in his shoulder. When he finally managed to tug it out in a spray of blood, Gajeel turned murderous eyes onto the grinning Lucy who was crumpled at his feet, having been dropped right onto her unprepared feet and probably twisting her ankles. "YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

Forming a rod with his right arm, Gajeel slammed it down at Lucy, only for the girl to roll to the side.

"I could've killed you then," Lucy said conversationally as she dodged several of Gajeel's attacks with the limited range her shackles gave her. "I could've easily stabbed that knife into your spinal cord or head and _killed _you." The blonde then stared up at Gajeel, eyes glinting. "You owe me, Redfox."

"Yeah!" the boy roared back in answer, winding up for another swing at her. "I owe you pain and misery, bitch!"

Just as Gajeel was about to slam the rod into Lucy's back, the ground beneath him abruptly crumbled and broke apart in a fiery explosion, sending him flying backwards with the force of the attack.

Lucy shrieked at the sudden eruption of fire right beneath her, attempting to scramble backwards away from the terrifying flames that were currently burning her hands and legs. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Ow! You son of a bitch, Dragneel! I'm going to fucking kill you!" She would've kept going through several more insults, but the sight, and the smell, and the sound, and the feel of the flames around her dragged her deep down into memories she had tried to supress for so long.

And that's when Natsu burst into the scene after his attack, Happy holding him afloat. "Your ass is mine, Redfox!"

The pink-haired mage then touched down opposite Gajeel, who was already getting up, and letting Happy flutter off to the side. "Where's Lucy, you bastard?"

"Gihihi," Gajeel laughed crazily, forgetting about the wound in his shoulder at the sight of new competition. "Why, right behind you, Dragneel."

At hearing this, Natsu and Happy whirled around to spot Lucy curled up against the wall, barely-conscious, more battered than before, and sporting several new slices and burns on her body.

"You bastard!" Natsu roared at Gajeel. "What did you do to her?!"

"Oh, nothing much," Gajeel replied, "I just threw a few knives at her. You should be asking yourself _what have you done_?" At seeing Natsu's confused expression, Gajeel broke into wild laughter. "Oh, this is rich! You don't even know!"

"Know what?" Natsu demanded, even as he crept backwards towards Lucy. "What is it?"

A sadistic grin appeared on Gajeel's face, making several of the Phantom mages who hadn't been knocked unconscious by Natsu's attack shudder in fear. "I'm talking about her fear of fire, dumbass. Her absolutely terrifying, paralysing fear of flames and what they can do."

'_Lucy's…scared of flames?' _Natsu thought, aghast, stopping his advancement towards Lucy. "B-but, she would've said something! There's no way Lucy's scared of fire 'cause she always goes on jobs with me! She's used to fire! She likes me, so she must like fire!"

"That's where you're wrong, Salamander," Gajeel growled. "That blonde bitch is scared of _you _and what _you _can do. She's probably only your partner 'cause she's scared of what you'll do to her if she says no."

"Lies!' Natsu burst out angrily. Desperately. "You're lying!"

Gajeel snorted. "Fine, don't believe me. Just ask that dumbass bitch yourself." He quickly held a hand up before Natsu could turn around to the girl shivering in the corner, where Happy was attempting to wake her up. "But you can't do that before I bash you into the ground and grind your bones to dust!"

The Dragon Slayer with arms of iron burst forwards then, not giving Natsu enough time to react. He fell on the pink-haired boy with a kind of viciousness that Natsu had never seen before, pummelling away at every part of Natsu's body.

But Natsu was known for his ridiculously hard skull, as well as every other body part, so he was able to take the hits with a grain of salt. He then recovered and turned the tables by grabbing Gajeel's metal arm and flinging him over his shoulder, making sure not to hit Lucy.

That whole situation with Lucy and her phobia of fire was distracting and worrying at best, but Natsu was prepared to shove such matters aside so that he could defeat the arsehole that had hurt his nakama so much – especially Lucy!

So, with a roar of fury, Natsu launched himself into a battle of proportions that no one had seen before. With levels of destruction that was so unfathomable that the Phantom members watching could scarcely believe their eyes.

While the two Dragon Slayers were going at it, Happy was on one side of the room, trying (and failing) to wake up Lucy from whatever weird dreams she was having.

"Lucy…!" Happy cried out, shaking the girl's shoulder with his tiny paws. "Wake up! This is no time to sleep!"

The blonde's only response was a shudder of her body and a small whimper of fear that had Happy flattening his ears against his head in worry. "Lushi…!" The small cat was beginning to sniffle now, taking in the entire situation and not finding it too good.

His best friend was fighting the psycho that had hurt Levy, Jet and Droy, as well as Lucy; Lucy was unconscious and freaking out over something that Happy couldn't see, and was covered in so many injuries Happy was amazed that she hadn't passed out prior to this; his nakama was being overwhelmed by those freaky ghost-things, and his guild was currently being destroyed.

"Wake up, Lucy…" Happy hiccupped out, still patting at the trembling girl's shoulder. "Please…"

Then, almost like the heavens had heard Happy's plea, Lucy shot up suddenly. A scream wrenched its way out of her throat and her hands scrabbled at her abdomen, like something was wrong there.

"It's okay, Lucy! It's okay," Happy called out to the girl, patting her leg soothingly as she struggled to come to terms of where she was. "You were having a nightmare."

"Fire…" Lucy muttered dazedly, tugging at the hem of her shirt as her chest heaved. "Everything's burning…"

"No it's not, Lucy," Happy said to the scared girl, still stroking her. "Everything's perfectly fine. There's no fire here."

Natsu took this opportunity to breathe out a large spout of fire, which sent every Phantom mage scrambling for cover, screaming in fear.

Lucy joined them, eyes wide in terror as she tried to get away from the object of her fear. "Happy, you little shit! I'm going to chuck you in the fires to burn!"

"Well," Happy consoled as he trotted over to stand by the girl, "at least you're back to your usual mean self."

"Yeah," Lucy replied, running a hand through her hair as she watched the awesome battle between Natsu and Gajeel – it was ten times cooler to see in person than on a screen or in a book. "Sorry about that. It's just…" she gave a shudder and clenched a hand to her side, "fire brings back bad memories."

Happy gave her a dubious look before turning to watch the fight, anxious to see his partner win.

Beside him, Lucy settled down her racing heart to watch the fight, hoping beyond all hope that Natsu wouldn't run out of steam like in the series. There was no way she could summon Sagittarius like Lucy did, let alone a silver key like Cenas. She had bluffed to Gajeel that she would be able to summon a key soon, but really, by soon she meant in two days' time with lots of food and a fuckload of naps. Doing that trick with Jupiter and summoning Aquarius had drained what magic she had managed to gather up in her brief rest in the infirmary.

So, yeah, there was nothing she could do as Gajeel ate some metal plating and got a power boost. Absolutely nothing as Natsu got pummelled by Gajeel's attacks, making short bellows of pain in between each hit.

Each sound…it made Lucy's chest constrict in a way that she hadn't felt before – and it wasn't because of her busted ribs, either. She's had plenty of those before, and knew that sensation. This was totally different. Having Happy wailing and tugging on her leg in emotional agony didn't exactly help the feeling, and Lucy felt the familiar burn in her eyes of hopeless tears.

Fuck! What could she do? Her sword was so far away (not like she could get it since she was still shackled to the wall), and Natsu and Gajeel were moving back and forth so fast that there was no way that she wouldn't be hit in the crossfire if she tried to go and get it. All she had was her bare hands (which were manacled together) and her wits, neither which were in very good condition right now.

"What can I do…" Lucy moaned, eyes surrounded by stress lines following Natsu and Gajeel's process around the room. "There's got to be something…" Watching Gajeel push Natsu back towards her, Lucy got an insane idea.

It was the second coming of Jupiter, and it would hurt like a bitch, but that was a friend out there! Granted, an annoying, rude, loud and way too passionate friend, but Natsu were precious, no matter how much she pretended he wasn't!

The thing was, Natsu may get power-up from eating sources of power, but he also got fired up at seeing his friends in trouble.

Now, all Lucy needed to do was throw herself into another incredibly stupid situation.

Literally.

* * *

Natsu was being beaten. There was literally no other way to put it.

He was being beaten into the walls, into the ground, and even up into the ceiling. He was being beaten everywhere by the likes of _Gajeel_, who was a heartless bastard and actually _deserved _to be beaten.

As of right now, Natsu was bloody, exhausted and half blind because of it. He could barely block or deflect any attacks coming from the energized Gajeel, that's how tired he was.

If he could just get some room and grab a quick breather, than maybe he could recollect his thoughts and activate a battle plan.

But there was no way that Gajeel was going to let him escape, not when he had him on the ropes.

Just when it looked like Gajeel was going to go for a massive deck with one of his metal-scaled hands, there was a flash of gold in front of Natsu's eyes, obscuring his view.

His onyx eyes widened significantly as he watched Lucy fling herself in front of him to catch Gajeel's hit right across her face. She didn't even put her arms up, she just took the hit without a single sound.

Even Natsu could see that her nose folded easily under the hit, breaking and snapping to the side with a spray of blood that splattered all over his own face. Lucy head gave way and she twisted with the momentum of the punch, tumbling to the right side of Natsu. She hit the ground with a bounce before being dragged back towards the wall slightly; she had pulled her restraints to the limit to get to Natsu, and was now being dragged back because of it.

Gajeel looked rather surprised at the outcome as he glanced between Lucy's limp form at his feet and the blood smeared across his knuckles. He looked up to see Natsu's terrified expression turn to one of rage, and felt fear for the first time in what felt like ages.

As Natsu began to turn the tables and beat Gajeel into submission, Lucy managed one brief smile of victory before she blacked out from pain and exhaustion.

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

When I woke up, I kind of wished I could go right back to the land of unconsciousness.

Everything _hurt_.

My eyes were gummy and sticky as I opened them as little as possible. Which was lucky, as the sunlight that penetrated through the slits of my eyelids made me groan as the migraine in my head kicked up another notch to _brain-melting pain. _

But I couldn't just laze around here all day…wherever here was. I had to assess the situation and act accordingly. At worst, my plan had failed and Natsu wasn't fired up enough to defeat Gajeel. That meant that Jose had me, or had already given me over to 'my' father. Both of which sucked royal Hippogriff.

At best, I was in a place that was safe, my injuries treated. That would be awesome, and one of the first times that has happened to me. Normally when I fall unconscious, I'm still in the same place that I was before I blacked out. Sure, there has been a few occasions when my gang mates took pity on me and brought me back to base, but I was mostly expected to fix myself up, since I'd never had many life-threatening injuries.

I guess I was just lucky like that.

But that was enough walks down memory lane, I had to wake up. Even if my nose throbbed and my chest felt there was a heavy weight on it.

And I do so, with a momentous effort that resulted in my retina being burned by stupid sunlight that was filtered through a window on the wall opposite me.

A window, which was a good sign. That meant that I wasn't being kept underground.

Finally deciding to get this over and done with, I rolled over to the best of my abilities, grunting slightly when my abdomen burned.

I was met with the sight of a small, black-haired boy curled up on the white sheets that I was under, his small body easily able to fit on the bed beside me. He was fast asleep and covered in a few bandages of his own, making me tut.

Who was the irresponsible bastard that left Ryos on his own, not making him go to sleep in a bed of his own to rest his wounds? They're obviously an idiot.

"Ryos," I whispered, stiffly raising a hand to place it on the boy's mop of hair. "You need to wake up, Ryos." I ruffled his hair, making the boy moan slightly in his sleepy haze. "Ryos, wake up. You need to go sleep in your own bed, sweetheart."

A mumble bubbled out of the boy as he slowly raised his head off the bed. His red eyes blinked dazedly at me for a moment before he seemed to recognise who I was.

"Lucy!" he yelled out, bolting upright with a surprised expression on his face. "You're alright!"

"Depends on what alright means," I replied back, smiling at the boy to show that I was only teasing. But I quickly dropped it because my nose hurt whenever I contorted my face. "What happened, Ryos? I can't remember much after Gajeel and Natsu began to fight…"

Ryos nodded as he shifted around to sit cross-legged on my bed, eyes intense as he began speaking. "Well, after you got captured by that robot, everyone was freaking out, not sure what was going on. The brunette with the cards—"

"Cana," I informed him.

"Yeah, Cana-san. Well, she took charge again and tried to counter the Shades attacks, but we were getting overwhelmed. We were also really scared that Abyss Break would activate, but the robot suddenly stopped writing the runes at one point."

I hummed thoughtfully at this. "Everyone must've defeated the Elemental Four."

"Yeah," Ryos agreed, "I saw Mirajane's brother defeat Sol after she got captured. I'd never seen Sol get beaten so badly…"

Surprised at the fact that Mirajane got captured, exactly like in the series, I pressed for more details. "Did the Shades stop? Is the guild okay? Has Jose been stopped? What about Natsu, is he okay? Erza? Gray? Cana—"

"Calm down, Lucy," Ryos said nervously, fluttering his hands to placate me. "Yes, the Shades did stop after Makarov-sama fought Jose and defeated him."

"Good on you Makarov…" I muttered to myself. I then realised that Ryos was waiting to continue, and I quickly ushered him on; I wanted to know what happened in the end.

Ryos fumbled for words for a moment before he regained himself. "Um, the good news is that everyone's pretty much okay. A couple of people were injured from the Shades, but Porlyusica healed them all really easily before she kicked them all out." Ryos gave a small shrug before gesturing widely. "You're the only one who got to stay at her place."

Following what Ryos was gesturing at, I was surprised to see myself inside of a round room that looked like the inside of a tree. Actually, now that I remember, this house was actually made out of a tree that was hollowed out; cool.

I could look at the room more closely later, though. I was more concerned about Natsu and Erza's wellbeing. They both versed the hardest opponents and I could only hope that they came out okay, just like in the series.

As if reading my thoughts, Ryos began to speak again. "Natsu-san is perfectly fine, Lucy. He was carried down by Happy from the Phantom guild after it began collapsing. He was barely conscious, but he kept yelling about getting you back and how you were injured. Happy had to go fly up again to get you, and nearly got knocked out by a bunch of rubble that was falling."

"Damn cat," I sighed, "he shouldn't risk himself just for me."

"Don't say that, Lucy!" Ryos suddenly burst out next to me, surprising me some. "You're just as important as everyone else, so I wish that you'd stop throwing away your life so easily! I've only known you for two days, but I would be sad if you…if you…"

"If I died?" I asked softly. At seeing the boy's distraught expression, I sighed again before pulling him to my bandaged chest, wrapping my arms around his thin back securely. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Ryos, but if I die, I die. There's nothing that anyone can do about it. I would want people to be happy after I died, not moping and crying. So," I raised the boys head up to face me with my hand, trying to show him how sincere I was. "Don't cry about me dying yet, 'cause I have a lot more bite left in me, and I'm not going down so easily."

Ryos nodded sharply, eyes slightly brittle. "Mn!"

At seeing the boy calm down, I patted his head softly, pushing it down to nestle in the crook of my shoulder. He was so fragile and I couldn't even see the polite but confident young man that he would become in the future.

As I relaxed into the hug some more, I could feel sleep pulling at me again. Even if I had only just woken up, I knew that my body needed rest still to recuperate. So I had no regrets when I let go of consciousness and dropped back to sleep, my arms still wrapped tightly around the warm bundle that would be known as Rogue in the future.

* * *

The next time I woke up, it was to Porlyusica sitting on a chair beside my bed, a stern and disapproving expression directed towards me.

I merely blinked at her, feeling much more refreshed after my nap, even if I was a bit worried about Ryos' whereabouts since he wasn't in the bed with me anymore.

"You, child," Porlyusica began, startling me into focusing on her again as she spoke with a cranky tone. "You are incredibly troublesome."

"I apologise for any inconvenience my condition gave you," I replied back formally as I struggle to sit upright against the mound of pillow someone had placed behind me at some point. "But I also thank you kindly for your hospitality, and that you took the time to heal my wounds."

"You're not out of the rough yet, brat," Porlyusica remarked back snippily. "I had to heal a broken nose, several lacerations, magical depletion and four broke ribs; don't think that they're going to be alright straight away."

I nodded back politely, trying to maintain my stoic expression in the face of her own stern one. Porlyusica was pretty scary, but I quite liked her no-nonsense disposition. It was nice to see after spending so long with crazed and random people like Fairy Tail. "I understand perfectly, Porlyusica-san."

The woman snorted at that, like she thought that I didn't understand at all. "We'll see…" She then stood up to bustle around the room, moving objects and herbs around. It seemed to merely just give her something to do as she talked to me. "You've been stinking up my room for two days now, so I'm expecting you to leave soon. Your annoying friends have been intruding on me every day, pestering me about your condition." Porlyusica harrumphed, not looking pleased about such things. "I've had to chase them out several times, those damn brats."

I mulled over her words, slightly surprised that the others had visited me. But I smiled at that news, and looked up to Porlyusica to thank her again.

She just grunted before tossing something at me. "Here. The pink-haired brat wanted you to have these."

Reflectively catching whatever she had thrown at me, I opened my hands to find my key chain staring back at me, each key glinting in the sunlight that flooded the room.

"Oh, thank you…" I whispered as I hugged my keys to my chest, "thank you so much…!"

"I heard you the first time," snapped out Porlyusica, apparently done with humouring me, patient or not. "The only reason you're still here is because your ribs are still healing and your nose still needs to toughed up again after I had to reset it." The pink-haired woman came to sit back down next to me, looking more serious than I had ever seen her. "But, also, because I wanted to ask you when you were going to tell that annoying guild of yours that you aren't from this world."

I froze. How had she known? I had never mentioned anything about being from another world to any Fairy Tail member, so they couldn't have mentioned it to Porlyusica. Just how did she know?

My answer was given at a softer tone than Porlyusica's usual cranky one, the woman's face folded along well-worn wrinkles. "I can sense it on you, girl. It is similar to Anima, but also different. Even with its differences, though, I can still sense that massive time and space magic has been worked on you."

"Do you know how exactly I got here," I asked her softly, hesitant to talk about this situation after keeping it a secret for so long.

When Porlyusica shook her head, and I felt the small flutter of hope that had sprung into my chest leave swiftly. I couldn't help but let out a disappointed sigh; when would I find out how I had gotten here, and why? I had asked several wise women and men about crossing worlds on my travels, and all of them said it was impossible unless someone was born with the talent or astronomical powers were at work. But ripping open gateways to other worlds was something that was both dangerous and ridiculously tricky, so only something old and powerful could be able to work such magic, and I didn't know anyone like that either than Zeref, maybe Mavis, my spirits or even the dragons like Igneel and Grandine.

But as Porlyusica, the Edolas version of Grandine, didn't know how, I would have to cross out that option. Not like I had many already…

"So, child," Porlyusica barked out, "when are you going to tell them that you're from another world?"

"When are you?" I shot back, feeling an embarrassing amount of happiness from her surprised expression. "Yes, I know that you're from Edolas…Grandine."

Porlyusica sent me a calculating look, her expression caught between anger and intrigue. "Will you tell me how you came upon that information?"

I shrugged back, shifting in the sheets that lay across me. "My world. I know a lot of things about Fiore and the events that happen here from my world, and even a slight bit about Edolas."

"So your world is as closely connected to Earthland as Edolas is?" Porlyusica asked, suddenly looking fascinated by the information. "Perhaps you were snatched up by Anima and—"

"I'm afraid not," I said, cutting across her. "I was not sucked up by a portal or any of that sort. I died to come to this world. Not like I had any choice…" I muttered the last part, still sore about the literal back stab that had happened to me. "I woke up in Lucy Heartifilia's body. Only, it wasn't a reincarnation, as I only arrived a year ago, when her body was sixteen."

The healer looked absolutely perplexed as she churned the information around in her head. "I have never heard of such a thing before…"

I rolled my eyes. "Join the club."

Porlyusica ignored my comment to ask another question. "What is your name then? You said you were not Heartifilia until you came to this world, so what was your name prior?"

"Tiana Laakson," I replied back earnestly, not even surprised when Porlyusica blanched at my last name. I may have been born in England, but that didn't mean that I was from there. My father's side of the family was actually part Finish, and the family name had been carried over a whole bunch of generations to me.

"It means Tiana of the valley," I informed Porlyusica, even though it didn't especially matter. "Old family name."

Porlyusica nodded absently at that, not very focused on what I was saying.

Just as I decided to pursue what it was like to be Grandine and how life was in Edolas, a great rattle came at the front door – which was made out of the tree as well; awesome – before it burst open.

Erza, Gray, Natsu, Levy. Happy and Ryos came tumbling through, each one shoving and pushing to get through. Well, the first three were. Levy and Ryos were trying not to get squished too badly – ah, I once knew the struggle of being the midget – and Happy was merely flapping over their heads.

The Exceed was the first one to notice me sitting up, awake, and let out a loud wail of my name before he came speeding over to crash into my chest.

Crying out in surprise, I reflectively grabbed Happy, clutching him tighter to my chest. The blue feline only wriggled in closer in return, big, fat tears dripping down his face and getting the thin gown I had on wet because of them.

"Lucy's okay!" Happy cried into my chest. "She's okay!"

"E-err, yeah," I replied, unsure how to handle the situation. I decided on patting Happy's head to console him. "H-hey, it's okay. I'm okay, Happy."

"Thank goodness!" Erza boomed out, clanking across the room to stand by my side. "We didn't know when you'd wake up!" The girl's face then softened, and she swiftly grabbed my head to slam me against her breastplate, doing an awkward hug that only cricked my neck and hurt my head, rather than comfort me.

"Thank you, Erza…" I managed to groan out, struggling to get out of the embrace before my nose broke again. "For your concern."

"Such bravery in the face of danger," Erza said passionately, not letting me go, "it's simply amazing!"

"Oy, oy," I heard Gray mutter from behind the redhead, "you might want to let her go before she blacks out. Her face is turning a weird colour."

Thankfully, Erza listened to him and released me, making me drop back down onto my pillows with a gasp of air. Sweet, sweet oxygen!

"Oh, Lu-chan," Levy spoke up next, skittering forwards to softly hug me around the shoulders, careful to not jostle Happy from his position at my chest or aggravate any of my wounds.

Damn, did I like this girl.

"You're all okay, Levy-chan?" I asked the blue-haired girl, looking for any injuries on her when she pulled away. "All healed up?"

"Yep!" Levy said cheerfully, patting a gauze on her cheek. "Just a couple of cuts healing up, but it's all okay! Porlyusica-san said that they'll finish healing by next week."

"That's good," I said sincerely, really meaning it. "You had us worried."

A snort came from behind Levy, making me peer around her slight girth to make eye contact with a disgruntled Gray. "What? What is it, Gray?"

"_She_ had us worried?" Gray said bitterly, shaking his head. "Man, we knew Levy, Jet and Droy would pull through; they're tough like that. We were less sure of you."

"Me?" I asked, confused by that comment. "Why me?"

"It's because your magic was so low," Levy supplied for me, her brow creased slightly. "Your body struggled to work without magic to help heal it, and your heart failed a few times from the stress your body was on. We…" Levy bit her lip, eyes downcast. "We thought you might die…"

The impact of her words hit me hard at that moment, making me sit and think for a moment about what could've happened if my heart really did fail for good. I would've…died. I would've failed my mission. Lucy Heartifilia would be gone from the world before she could even complete so many things.

She would never become friends with all of her spirits, or so many people from other guilds. She would never see her little sister, Michelle, ever again, or fix up her relationship with her father. She'd never grow and prove herself as a Celestial mage. She would've…

"I'm really sorry," I choked out, feeling ashamed at the tears that were trying to push their way out of my eyes. "I'm sorry for worrying you guys and—and—!"

"Dear Mavis," I heard Gray groan, "I didn't mean to make you cry!"

Cold hands settled on my shoulders, making me look up into Gray's serious gaze, only inches from my face. "Yes, we're all slightly angry that you hid your past from us – I mean, _you_, a _heiress? _– and that you gambled your life so easily, but we're…" Gray sighed and released my shoulders to run a distressed hand through his hair, making it spikier than usual. "We're just happy you're alive, okay?"

I nodded briskly, scared that if I tried to talk anymore I might break down and begin crying in earnest.

"We're really happy!" Ryos bubbled up from beside my bed, his hands clenching at the sheets. He looked much healthier and happier today than when I saw him yesterday, his eyes shining with youthful mirth. "I've never been happier in my life!"

I laughed than, taking one hand off Happy – who was refusing to let go of me – to gesture to Ryos to join me up on the bed.

The boy obeyed instantly, scrambling up onto the bed to settle down on the sheets, nestling in at my side. He radiated a heat that soothed my nerves some, and I relaxed slightly.

Of course, I instantly tensed up when Natsu finally stepped forwards, his expression uncharacteristically serious through the bandages that were wrapped almost randomly across his face, as well as the rest of his body.

We stared at each other for a moment, even though I really didn't want to. Natsu's eyes were ridiculously intense when he wanted them to be, and they were really unnerving me. So it was a relief when he finally spoke up.

"…You threw yourself in front of me to get punched by Gajeel."

Worrying my lip with my teeth, I replied honestly. "I did."

"Why?"

I took a deep breath, not looking forward to the moment that Natsu would flip a shit and start yelling at me. "…So that you could get angry enough to overpower Gajeel and win. Also because that hit would've knocked you out of the fight, and there was nothing I could've done if that had happened; I had no magic and was shackled, therefore limiting what I could do when it came to a fight." I stopped talking and looked down at Happy, who was looking up at me with disbelief – I had almost forgot that he had yelled out when I had jumped in front of Gajeel. He must've been so freaked out by the sudden turn of events.

That thought made the guilty feeling in my stomach double, and I struggled to keep myself composed.

A hot hand placed itself on my head, and I looked up hesitantly to meet Natsu's burning gaze as he leaned in closely. "Don't ever do that again. You hear me, Lucy? Never again!" The boy gritted his teeth and turned his head away, an emotion I couldn't place on his face. "When Gajeel hit you…When I saw all of that blood coming out of your face…" He brushed a couple of fingers against his cheek, as if tracing something there. "It just…" He paused, unsure where to go on.

I didn't contribute anything, too scared that I would say something that would anger him, or even begin to cry. Luckily, Natsu seemed to collect himself and continued to talk, his dark eyes back onto my own.

"You should never sacrifice yourself like that. Not so…so foolishly! Your nakama care about you, and I'd—we'd all be destroyed if you died like that. So…" Natsu swallowed roughly, "don't die on me, okay?"

"..I'm sorry," I whispered in reply, a few tears leaking from my eyes. "I'm really, really sorry!"

And that's when the dam burst.

Tears began pouring from my face and I started to cry loudly, not caring about appearances anymore. I was so tired and sad and guilty to even care anymore. I didn't even react when Ryos and Happy hugged me tighter. I just closed my eyes and wailed in an ugly, snotty mess that normally would've mortified me.

But I was surrounded by friends, I finally understood, and weakness was okay when you had other people to push you back up. They were my strength as well. They were my pillar of strength that would keep me going in dark times, and I understood that now. I couldn't throw away my life like that, it wouldn't be fair to them. It wouldn't be fair to anyone.

There was a kafuffle around me as everyone bustled into movement. Levy and Erza came forwards to hug me, careful of my injuries. Ryos and Happy were already wrapped around me, the latter beginning to sniffle again. Gray awkwardly patted me on the head, expression mildly uncomfortable.

But it was Natsu's forehead leaning against mine that made me stop crying, and begin to merely sniffle. "Thank you..." I said quietly to him, voice thick with tears. "Thank you for everything, Natsu."

"It's okay," he replied just as quietly, "we're partners, so we have to look out for each other, right?"

I smiled then, albeit tearfully. "Right, partner."

The moment was completely ruined then by Porlyusica appearing with a broom in her hands, already wildly swinging it around as she approached us. "OUT! GET OUT, YOU BRATS, AND STOP MAKING SO MUCH NOISE IN MY HOUSE!"

Instantly, everyone detached from me and ran, screaming, out the front door. "Run from the witch! She's insane!"

I stared, dumbfounded and only holding a pair of gate keys, after them, completely shocked by the turn of events.

It was only when Natsu burst back in to grab my hand in his own that I moved, scrambling out of bed after him. He pulled me out the door, laughing as Porlyusica chased after us with her broom in hand, throwing insults after us.

I laughed then, too, revelling in the breath of fresh air and the feeling of my partner's hand in my own. We looked absolutely ridiculous; me, in a white gown over bandages and no shoes; and Natsu, in his usual grab with matching bandages. But it didn't matter as I beamed at Natsu's back, feeling happier than I had felt in ages. "I want to go on another adventure!"

Natsu turned to look at me as we raced through the forest surrounding Porlyusica's house, his hand clutching mine tightly as he led me through. His face then scrunched up because of the appearance of his trademark, huge grin on his face, and I could feel his happiness practically emitting from him. "Aye sir! Let's go on another adventure!"

* * *

**Oh, the irony.**

**I feel awful for putting in the last part in, 'cause it refers to future Lucy and how she never got to go on another adventure.**

**But anyways, massive chapter, ne? I have literally covered the whole Phantom arc in two chapters. The next chapter is just dealing with the aftermath and that Blossom festival! I'm so pumped to write the feels between Tia!Lucy and Happy and Natsu. PARTNERSHIP FOR LIFE!**

**But so much happened in this chapter, even though I brushed over the fights and stuff.**

**Basically, the important facts are:**

**Lucy finally gets over some of her reluctance to trust others, and stops thinking of her life as something easily wasted.**

**You discover that Lucy has a fear of fire – which will be explained perfectly later on. And by later on, I mean way after the time skip. Sad, I know, but I have to wait until then for a good reason.**

**You also meet Ryos for real, which is, as you may have guessed, Rogue when he was younger. They never explained how he knew Gajeel aside from the fact that he met him after leaving his dragon and before Gajeel joined FT, so…obviously he had to be associated with Phantom to know Gajeel, so I just explained it as best as I could.**

**On the line of Gajeel; he's going to close to Lucy in the future, as I think those two would compliment each other well, just like Gray does with her. But I'm not having Lucy dance in a bunny suit, so I need a new nickname for her from Gajeel. It needs be something mildly degrading, but also affectionate. Please tell me some suggestions.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I can't wait to write more! I just need to write another chap of **_**Mimic **_**and attempt to write **_**Red Gloved Hands. **_

**IF YOU WANT RED GLOVED HANDS TO CONTINUE IN A CERTAIN WAY, COMMENT, PM OR VOTE ON MY POLL!**

**CIAO!**


	18. Friendship Feels!

**Yo, yo, 'ttebayo!**

**Hey guys, I've really got nothing to say either than thank you so much for your continued support. I've hit 150 reviews and it's made me really, really happy! I know that I really don't answer your reviews, but I read each and every one. I get distracted easily and generally forget about them, but it's also because some of them are so short that there's really no point in replying either than saying an equally short thank you. And there have been several instances where I write fully fledged replies and get no answer.**

**So, if you're sad that I haven't replied to your reviews, I apologise greatly. I love each and every person on this site who take the time to even read this story along with my others, let alone review. So yeah…cheers.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_New arc of Fairy Tail, and a new arc of FVH. I only own one of them, though._

**Warning: **_Language, some spoilers, crying and wailing, sneakiness and several adorably fluffy teammate moments!_

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

"Do you understand why we've called you here, Heartifilia?"

Barely daring to blink at the imposing visage of the Second Seat, Org, I nodded stiffly. "Yes, I believe you have summoned me here to discuss the consequences of Phantom Lord's attack on Fairy Tail."

"So you say that Phantom Lord was the one who attacked you?" Michello, Third Seat of the Magic Council said in a tone I picked up to be condescending. "Because I have several reports of Fairy Tail attacking Phantom Lord thirteen hours prior; that does not seem like Phantom Lord attacked Fairy Tail."

Tilting my head slightly in acknowledgement and I continued to report in a calm voice. "The attack that you are referring to was a retaliation upon Phantom Lord's beating of three of our guild members. And, according to the Guild Lawbook, Charter Three, Paragraph twelve; _'Any and all attacks from one legal guild to another can be retaliated with no repercussions from the Magic Council; Chairman Girth Leor.'_"

I tried my best to remain impassive, but I couldn't help but quirk my right eyebrow slightly. "This law was created during the beginning of guilds coming into legality so that the Magic council, who had only just been created, couldn't delve too deeply into their affairs. Guilds managed themselves and the Magic Council only interfered as a third-party when called upon, or when the situation was declared too unstable. The law has not been changed or touched during any of the Chairman's reign and still stands firmly."

"You dare!" thundered Michello, his small cat-looking body producing quite a loud shout.

"I dare," I replied firmly, "I am merely stating the law here, and I mean no ill-will towards the Council and its members."

The tiny man glowered at me, but he had no solid ground to stand on to oppose me and he knew it. Much like the other Council members who were studying me as if they had never seen me.

A low chuckle came from the centre of the chamber we had gathered in, and I turned my gaze towards the current Chairman Crawford Seam – the unknown traitor who was working for Tartarus – who looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes. "You are very right there, Lucy-san. I'm afraid we can place no charges against Fairy Tail—"

There was some very loud grumbles there from several of the Council members, but Crawford merely ignored them.

"—But I declare that Phantom Lord will be disbanded from now on, and all members who were directly involved in breaking the law that I placed – _'No guild may attack another guild' _– will be sentenced to a term in prison."

There was more murmurs at this, most of the Council shocked at Crawford's rather brutal approach to the manner. However, as I locked eyes with the plump man, I knew that he was merely playing up the grandfatherly roll that people saw him use every day. No one but I and the members of Tartarus knew of his true greedy, sly and manipulative personality. And upon seeing a different sort of glint in his eyes, I knew that he was about to use another sly trick for his advantage.

"However," Crawford continued, eyes trained solely on me, "I do wish to know where your loyalties lie, Lucy-san. You have been working for us the past year and have performed admirably. Your skills have been valuable to our force and your work clean and efficient. So it was perplexing to us when, after turning down several offers to join our Rune Knights and be a lieutenant, or even a Commander of your own division, you joined the guild that has caused us so many problems; Fairy Tail."

The elderly man raised one of his bushy brows at me in a challenging way. "That does not seem to be the attitude or choice that a loyal member of the Magical would have and take respectively."

Oh, so he was trying to turn the Council on me? I believe that he was starting to see me as a threat, and when someone begins to see someone as a threat…well, they never lose that point of view. There was no way that I could return to the faithful mage that they had believed to have, not after this. But I could still retain some contact after I assure my place as someone not to lose.

"I mean no grievances to you, Seam-sama, nor to the Magical Council." I spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear, but in a level tone as to not betray the mild irritation I felt at the situation; political matters always took so long and there was too much dancing around to get anything done. "But I believe that I had established, upon your first summoning of my presence to this chamber a year ago, that I was not a working member of the Magical Council. I was, and still am, a roving mage first and foremost. My core loyalties lie with no one but my spirits, myself and the land. I may have offered a contract with you that bettered us both, and I will not subtract it, but I'm afraid to say that either than the usual jurisdictions over a normal mage, you do not own me."

Keeping my face composed as several seats of the Council glowered angrily at that comment, I continued on determinedly. "Fairy Tail was a guild that I joined for many reasons, and some that you may benefit from. You will notice since my joining that there has been a twenty three percent drop in damages to Government buildings and properties. This was due to a warning I gave to the entirety of the guild. I have only been there for a month, imagine what other changes that I could bring."

At that moment, I was rather glad that Makarov had been escorted from the Chamber after giving his testimony to the Council. If he heard what I was saying…

I was playing a very dangerous game here. I was walking the line between the Magic Council and Fairy Tail, much like I did with my family back home and whatever gang I chose to align myself with. Neither could know about my dealings with the other, and I had to make sure that I had a different façade for both. It was dangerous and tiring, true, but the rewards I would reap would be worth it in the end.

"Do you plan on doing something with Fairy Tail?" Yajima asked, one of his eyes opened to peer down at me. It was plain to see that he was unhappy with the idea, as he was very close Fairy Tail and Makarov in general, so I was quick to placate him.

"Either than making sure to keep them out of trouble?" I asked him rhetorically. "Then no. I am enjoying being with fellow mages and learning of new things and making new friends. It is an interesting experience for me, and I hold no harmful intent towards them."

Yajima relaxed slightly, but I noticed that he didn't agree with my statement; a wise old man indeed.

"This still does not answer our questions!" another Council member, Yuri, shouted. "We wish to know where your loyalties lie, girl!"

Crawford was quick to hush the man, the others tittering quietly at Yuri's loss of face, but he still looked at me expectantly alongside the others.

Repressing the urge to sigh and knead my brow, I answered honestly. "I seemed to have already answered your questions in my previous statement, Yuri-sama. I did say that my loyalties lay with my spirits, myself and the land."

"Answer the damn question!" Yuri burst out, eyes blazing as he glared at me. "You—"

"What my companion is trying to say, Heartifilia-san," Belno, the only female of the Council said softly, cutting across whatever Yuri was going to say next, "is that your answer is too obscure for his, and our, liking. Do you mind explaining your answer fully?"

Just managing to stop myself from shrugging in answer – damn, Natsu was rubbing off on me – I answered in a respectful tone to the fair woman. "My loyalties lie with my spirits as they are my pillar of strength during hard times, my nakama, and have proven to me a hundred times over of their own loyalty to me. The loyalty to myself is merely just a mantra that I must believe in myself and not let anyone else sway my true thoughts and feelings; loyalty to my own heart and its beliefs. The loyalty to the land, however, is referring to my loyalty to protect Earthland, and therefore Fiore, and all of its occupants to the best of my abilities. I am a mage to save people's lives and bring greater good to this land; nothing else means more to me than that."

A small smile crossed Belno's lips at my words and she gave me an equally short nod. "Thank you, Heartifilia-san, and know that you have my backing on your future endeavours."

Slightly shocked by her words, I only managed a deep bow as several other members around the women looked at her with peculiar expressions. "Thank you kindly, Belno-sama."

The woman waved me off, and Crawford quickly took the opportunity to take back control of the situation.

"Yes, thank you for that, Belno-dono, and I believe we have covered all that we have needed here bar one thing; Ultear Milkovich." The man paused to let several words of anger wash over the Chamber from Council member's lips before continuing on. "We have been unable to find Ultear since you brought to our attention of her true loyalties, Lucy-san. As we know of your contracts around Fiore, we were hoping that you'd be able to find us some information on her, or the woman herself."

Bowing slightly, I agreed with the man. "Is this a task you wish me to complete right now, Seam-sama?"

"After you help us round up the last of the Phantom Lord members," Crawford said. "Our Rune Knights have caught most of them and detained them, and they are going to go on trial shortly. However, Gajeel 'Black Steel' Redfox is still on the loose, as well as Juvia 'Of the Four Seas' Lockser. I wish you to find them and bring them here to be trialled."

"Seam-sama," I spoke up after the man had finished, "if I may, could I suggest something?"

"You may."

"To be blunt, Redfox has a life debt to me right now, and I wish to pull that into play. Lockser will follow anything he says as he is her only friend, but she is also someone who has a good heart; she was merely mislead by Jose, as well as Redfox."

"Go on," Crawford said, eyes narrowed at me."

Swallowing slightly, I kept my gaze locked on him as I spoke. "I wish to use Redfox's life debt to pull him and Lockser into Fairy Tail. That way, I will be able to keep an eye on them and monitor their progress. Their strength would be wasted in prison and I believe that I will be able to reform them into good members of society. That is, after they have faced their trials and have been dealt with punishment."

After some initial protests, the Council seemed to mull over my words, gazes thoughtful. Well, all of them bar Yuri, who was glaring at me, Belno, who was looking rather amused if mildly irritated at my demands, and Siegrain, who was smirking at me.

I had managed to dodge the blue-haired projection for most of my time at the Council, only occasionally bumping into him whenever I met with Ultear. The man had seemed to find my attempts amusing, and he was almost always smirking at me whenever I looked at him, like he found everything I did to be hilarious, yet also so far beneath him.

Asshole.

"I concur with this request," Crawford said finally, ignoring some last minute protests from other members. "However, know this Lucy-san; if Redfox and Lockser prove themselves _against _the Magic Council, it will not be only their heads on the chopping board, so to speak."

Recognising that as a dismissal, I bowed deeply to the Council before turning heel and walking out of the Chamber.

* * *

I didn't relax until I was on the cart home, with Makarov snoring lightly next to me, having fallen asleep not long after we had left the Magic Council Headquarters – I was so dead.

* * *

"Luuuuucccccyyyyyyy!"

Turning at the cry of my name, I was shocked to see Natsu and Happy come barrelling towards me as soon as I entered the guild the afternoon of my meeting with the Magic Council.

Barely managing to brace myself, I was hit with a massive hug from Natsu as Happy fluttered around my head.

After the whole deal with Phantom Lord, Natsu had taken to hugging me whenever he could. I had found it odd, but I didn't mind it too much. He seemed to find it hilarious though when I was uncomfortable with the contact, having been so long without anyone hugging me really.

"What's wrong, guys?" I asked them, my words muffled by Natsu's shoulder being shoved into my mouth – damn, I was still short compared to him!

"You disappeared without telling us!" Happy wailed out in reply, alighting on top of my head as Natsu retracted from me with an uncharacteristic frown. "We were going to go on a job and you totally ditched us!"

"Oh," I said as I brushed past the two to head for the bar – this entire experience called for a glass of whiskey – "is that all?" I ignore the twos grumpy retorts as they followed after me, both looking rather forlorn. "I was merely meeting with the Magic Council."

Both Happy and Natsu blanched behind me as I sat down at the bar, but Mirajane gave me a concerned look. "Ara, ara, what did they want, Lucy-chan?"

Sighing, I ran stressed fingers through my hair, not caring that it was messing up the neat bun I had done that morning. "They were just talking to me about Phantom Lord. I managed to get them off our cases with an old law, but I have to deal with some things before everything settles down."

I cast a shifty glance down the length of the bar where Makarov was nursing an ale, still looking as depressed as he had initially when I told him that Gajeel and Juvia were coming to the guild – he and I both could see all of the things that could go wrong with this.

"Awesome!" Natsu cheered from behind me, bringing me back to the situation at hand. "You totally one-upped the Council, Lucy! Heck yeah, that'll show them!"

"Why did they call upon you, Lucy-chan?" Mirajane asked me as she set down a whisky on the bar for me – this women knew _everything_. "I didn't think a regular mage would get mixed up in the political affairs."

Taking the shot of whiskey in my hands, I cradled it carefully as I answered. "Normally they wouldn't, but I'm not a normal mage. Prior to coming to Fairy Tail I was a roaming mage. That mean that I took any job that I could during my travels and completed it for less pay than what normal members of a guild would, as there's a surcharge for putting it through the Request Centre at the Council. During my travels, I kind of made a name for myself, and that caught the Magic Council's attention."

"Names?" Natsu asked excitedly as he dropped into the stool beside me. "What kind of names? Not as awesome as my name, Salamander, right?"

I cracked a quick smile at him. "No, I don't really have a solid name like you, Natsu, or even Erza's Titania. People just kind of gave me stupid titles for things I did, and most of them stuck."

"Like what?" Happy ventured, sitting atop the bar and looking at me expectantly. "I bet The Biggest Weirdo was one of them, right?"

Swiping playfully at him, I answered. "Nothing like that, Happy. I don't remember most of them, but there was some like; The Defeater of Wyvern's, Fate's Fortunate, Celestial Blade or Maiden, etc, etc." I shrugged at the three listening to me, "They're not very impressive."

"Not impressive," Mirajane repeated in a tone I picked up as incredulous, oddly enough. "Lucy, most people only get one name, how do you get so many?"

"None of them are proper names," I repeated, "and most are really unimaginative titles. But it doesn't matter," I cut off what Mirajane was going to say next, "I thought I was telling you of my association with the Magic Council?"

Mirajane flapped her hands at me with an abashed smile. "Yes, yes, continue with that!"

"Well, there's not much to say, really," I replied dutifully. "I just began to do the odd job for the Magic Council and report Dark guild activities to them. It was pretty cool – especially since I did a bunch of S-class missions when I wasn't even S-class – and I even got to work beside Rune Knights and their Commanders. I met this really cool guy called Lahar and—"

"TRAITOR!" Natsu suddenly roared out, pointing his hand at me comically as he slipped off his stool and backed away alongside Happy. "You are a traitor to Fairy Tail and me, Lucy! Siding yourself with the dark side!"

"How could you, Lucy?" Happy cried out beside him, joining in on the act – well, it wasn't an act for them.

"We've already gone through this before," I replied to them before I knocked back the shot of whiskey and revelled in the warming sensation and buzz it gave me. Nothing like a good shot of alcohol to end your day. Well, the day time, as my day wasn't going to end so shortly.

But I couldn't dwell on the activities of tonight as someone else called out my name.

Quickly slipping off my chair and turning around with my arms opened expectantly, I easily met Ryos's mad dash towards me. I turned his momentum upwards as I picked him up and flung him into the air, shrieking, before catching him softly and propping him up in my hip. "Hi there, Ryos."

The black-haired boy smiled shyly at me, but I was happy to note that he didn't wriggle to get out of my arms anymore. He had been very hesitant to let anyone touch him, but with some coaxing from me, Levy, Mirajane and, surprisingly, Erza, he was beginning to open up more.

He was still slightly terrified of Natsu after I introduced him as a fellow dragon slayer to Natsu and the older boy had gone nuts with excitement, but he still respected him.

He was most comfortable with Levy, Erza or I, but seemed to have a certain amount of wariness for Mirajane after the woman had gushed over him and coddled him to a degree that was almost smothering.

"Have you had fun with Levy-chan today?" I asked the boy as I caught sight of said girl and gave her a smile and wave. That girl was a Godsend as she had taken in Ryos while I had been recovering with Porlyusica, and was more than prepared to watch after him – as I didn't trust anyone else in this fucked up place – when I wasn't here.

When they boy nodded tiredly, I gave him a quick squeeze before tossing some jewels on the bar for Mirajane. "We're tired now, so we're going to head home; see you guys."

When Natsu tried to follow Ryos and I, I gave him a short glare. "Natus, we've discussed this; Ryos is sleeping with me now, so you can't come over anymore."

"Awww, what?" he moaned in answer. "Can't he sleep on the couch or something? I was there first!"

Shaking my head in a firm no and glaring at him for good measure, I turned on my heel and headed home, holding Ryos in my arms as he nodded off.

Of course, Natsu attempted to jump into my bed later that night, but I managed to snag him as he leapt into the air and toss him back down into the street.

When I crawled back into bed, I heard a soft giggle come from next to me, and I couldn't help but laugh alongside Ryos as I cuddled him.

He was so like my little sister sometimes that it was almost eerie. He had the same laugh like her, and the same politeness. But my sister was more of a closet spitfire than Ryos, and normally I would tickle her whenever she crawled into my bed.

Ryos was still skittish around people, and I wasn't the most touchy-feely person myself, so I think it would be a while before we got anywhere near the stage of playful fighting.

But that was alright, I thought to myself as I stared through my open window to the stars outside. There was no rush, and I was more than happy to live in the moment for now.

And so I counted the moments as I lay in the bed, waiting for the moment when Ryos would fall asleep, and then some to make doubly sure.

When I felt Ryos relax completely beside me for an hour, I careful untangled my arms from around him and slipped out of the bed, making sure not to wake him.

It had taken some time, even with my stealth skills, to learn how to not wake up Ryos with his super senses, but I had eventually learnt. And now I was putting them to use as I crept around my apartment, gathering up the bag with some food and specific items that I had prepared earlier that day.

Once I had done that, I placed the note I had carefully wrote that morning onto the small kitchen table – the _only _table I owned – in plain sight for Ryos to find tomorrow morning.

I cast one last glance around the room before nodding decisively and making my way back to my adjoining bedroom to where Ryos lay peacefully in my bed.

Compared to Natsu, who snored and rolled around and spoke in his sleep, Ryos was a welcome change as a bed buddy. He hardly moved, didn't drool or snore, and wasn't a ridiculous degree of temperature above the normal human range. I didn't mind having him sleep with me, after the boy had insisted that I take the bed, even though I had told him that I would sleep on the couch.

It had taken a bit of negotiating – as Ryos and I were too calm and civil to argue – before we both agreed to share the bed, much to Ryos's adorable embarrassment – I was also mildly embarrassed, though, when Natsu came bursting in one night to sleep with me and I had to explain the awkward situation to him.

'Head in the game, Tia,' I thought to myself, shaking my head softly to get my brain out of its memories and back into reality.

So, observing Ryos's peaceful face with his silky black hair flopping all over it, I gave him a quick kiss on the forehead – spur of the moment, I swear – before vaulting over him and out the window.

Landing with a soft tap of the boots I had on, I stood up, internally wincing at the pain in my feet from the drop, before heading off down the lamp-lit street that I lived in.

No one was around at the late hour, and I was thankful for that. I much preferred to walk on my own, and night time was a beautiful time that I adored to walk in. The stars lit my way alongside the lamps, and the moon was a bloated, unsymmetrical orb above my head, shedding even more light.

Sighing softly and adjusting the black cloak I had thrown around my shoulders to ward off the mild chill in the air, I headed off into the night.

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

Swinging in through Lucy's window, hands quickly letting go off the window sill he had used to forward his momentum, Natsu did a quick back flip before landing with his arms spread out wide. "LUCY! We're going on another adventure!"

Instead of the amused chuckle he normally got from Lucy at his actions, or even the light chidings or blank stare of disapproval, Natsu got the image and sounds of Ryos crying on the floor of Lucy's apartment.

He wasn't even changed from bed, if Natsu could guess from his messy hair and rumpled, over-sized shirt that he had been given by Lucy, along with a pair of pants that swallowed him up. His thin shoulders heaved under the black shirt – was everything Lucy owned black? – and Natsu could smell the scent of salt that meant tears, even if he couldn't see his face, what with it being buried into his arms and chest.

"Ne, Ryos…what's wrong?" Happy asked as he fluttered into the room after Natsu. "What's happened? Where's Lucy?"

The blonde wouldn't let the boy cry like this. Just a few days ago the boy had been hit by a stray chair in one of Fairy Tail's usual bar fights, and Lucy had gone _ballistic. _She had promptly broken up the fight after making sure Ryos was okay – just a bump on the head – before returning the favour to the culprits – including a very terrified Natsu and Gray – ten-fold by kicking them in the heads and knocking them all out.

Needless to say, everyone knew not to mess with Ryos when Lucy was around, and even then they shouldn't touch him, as Lucy always seemed to _know_ – Happy's money was on Mirajane telling her. So it was strange to see Ryos crying without Lucy beside him comforting him.

"S-She's gone me…" sobbed out Ryos, voice muffled from within the folds of his – Lucy's – shirt. "Just like Skiadrum, she left me."

Now, Natsu knew all about Ryos's dragon and what had transpired when he was younger, having had to kill the dragon due to its insistence, and was now beginning to get mildly worried by Ryos's words.

"What? Lucy left? Nah, there's no way she would leave. She's a Fairy Tail mage, just like you, and we never leave each other behind." Natsu tried to wave it off, but when Ryos pegged a wad of paper at his head, black Fairy Tail mark flashing on his left shoulder, he began to realise that the normally very composed boy was rather disturbed and angry – which didn't mean anything good.

Upon moving slightly so that Happy could read the note over his shoulder, Natsu unrumpled the note and painstakingly began to decipher the loopy, fancy handwriting style that Lucy insisted on writing on.

But by the end of the note, Natsu wished that he couldn't read those words at all.

_Dear Ryos (and probably Happy and Natsu since you guys have most likely come to my house without my askance),_

_Sorry I'm not here right now. I had some urgent business to attend to at my Father's Estate and I need to set things right for everyone. For Fairy Tail._

_I shouldn't be gone too long, although I can't exactly determine when I will be back. Until then, stay safe and make sure that you eat well (no destroying stuff Natsu)._

_Sincerely, Lucy Heartifilia._

"She's gone to that asshole's house!" Natsu howled out, scowl twisting his features into sharp and brittle pieces. "What the hell is she going to do there?"

"Who's the asshole?" Ryos asked, expression still torn, but slightly curious underneath it all. "Her father? Who's he?"

Something akin to a grimace appeared on Happy's face. "He's the guy who paid Phantom Lord to get Lucy, his daughter, from us and bring her back home; sounds like a massive prick." The cat then paused, eyes beginning to well up in his eyes. "Wait…Lucy said she's going to 'right things,' right?"

"Right," Ryos responded, frowning at the absurdness of his reply. "But what's the problem?"

Happy shook his head, looking very uncomfortable. "Lucy's ideas of right are screwed up. She sees things from a completely different point of view."

"A weirdo's point of view," Natsu agreed, arms folded against his chest. "She thought that she was weak after being captured by Gajeel and beaten up by that bastard Jose. She thought that it would be better to die than spend her life with Jose – she totally forgot that me and the rest of Fairy Tail would come for her."

"Fairy Tail and I," Ryos corrected absently as he mulled over the facts that had been given to him. "So you're saying…what? That Lucy will give herself up to her father just to keep Fairy Tail safe?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Happy agreed.

The three males exchanged a look for a mere second before scattering, leaping out of the window and bolting out of the door in order to get out of the house and closer to Lucy – wherever she may be.

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

Stretching my arms over my head and giving my back a twist to get a good crack out of it, I sighed softly and dropped my arms back to my side.

"I forgot how big this place is…" I murmured to myself as I walked up the ridiculously long driveway that led to the Heartifilia Estate. "You'd think that I would see more workers, though."

Just as the words slipped out of my mouth and I neared the large fountain that stood proudly outside of the Mansion that used to house Lucy, the main doors burst open and several people came bursting out towards me.

"Lucy-sama!" they all cried, waving their arms over their heads as they came running towards me. "Lucy-sama's back!"

I managed to get out a small 'Eep' before I swamped by a whole swarm of people that I had seen from the series. I could only remember the name of one of them, though, Mrs Spetto. Or was it Ms Spetto? I really didn't bother to memorise these people's names, deeming them useless to remember – I'm regretting that so much right now.

Completely overwhelmed by the crush of people around me, I only managed to give out small smiles and words of greetings – not much more than that.

This continued for what felt like ages, with people babbling on about changes to rooms I've never heard of, and people who I'd never met. It wasn't until a younger girl – was this the same girl who had come to my room the fateful day that this all began? – led me aside to inform me that my father wished to see me did I get a breather.

Smiling in thanks at the girl, I gestured her to lead the way through the mansion, not daring to speak lest I begin to say stupid things like 'Who the hell are you?' and 'Please stop touching me before I chop your hands off with the sword I have tucked away in the bag on my back. Yes, that's the strange bulge, _right next to where your head will be kept!'_

Oh God, Natsu's been an awful influence on me. When I hang out with Gray, nothing like this ever happens. We have comfortable silence between us as I might read a book, and he might make a sculpture out of ice. I'll give him some pointers about the design, and he'll amuse me with stories about how everyone in the guild was when they were younger.

Nothing was destroyed, set on fire or eaten like it was with Natsu.

Holding back another sigh and feeling a migraine start in the back of my head from lack of sleep – even though I had managed to catch up on some sleep on the train when I summoned Lyra and had her play her lyre to calm me down – I followed the young maid through the maze that was previously Lucy's house.

Shivering slightly at the thought of memories of Lucy wandering through these halls, I wished that the maid would quicken her pace, so that we could hurry up and see Jude.

But when we went to Lucy's room rather than Jude's study, and the door opened to reveal three other girls waiting with a familiar pink dress, I finally let out one of the sighs that I had been holding back for so long.

A nice looooong, exasperated sigh that had one of the maid's trying to hide her grin. I'll count that as a win against this bleak household, thank you very much.

Fuck my life.

* * *

Adjusting the heavy bodice that did barely anything to cover the unfortunate cleavage Lucy possessed (they had taken away my bandages, those merciless harpies in dresses), and brushing my fingers over my red guild mark that was on view to the entire world, I paused in front of Jude's office.

The dark, stained wooden doors glared right back at me, and my lips twisted in distaste of what was about to come. I knew this moment would come ever since I had arrived in Fiore and Lucy's body, but that didn't mean I had to look forward to it.

However, this was no time to go down memory lane or pretend not to procrastinate; I had to set this right.

My knocks echoed through the empty ghost halls and was answered by a gruff 'Come in,' that signalled me to open the doors and head in.

I bowed as I went, keeping my eyes directed to the plush carpet below. "Greetings, Jude-san."

There was an answering scoff from the man standing by the window as I raised my head, and Lucy's father glared at me with dark, loathsome eyes. "It's sama to you, Lucy."

"That would dictate that you are someone of much higher standing than me who deserves respect," I said with a sharp smile. "The only reason you have a san attached to your name is because you are an esteemed business man and only that title deserves respect; but that means nothing to a mage like me unless you're a client, which you're not."

Jude's eyes flashed angrily beneath his bushy eyebrows and he whirled around on his feet to stalk towards me. When he stood over me, nostrils flaring angrily and teeth gritted, I blinked lazily up at him, completely undeterred – I've fought monsters on a regular basis and faced down mob bosses, this is nothing.

"You—!" Jude seemed lost for words as he spat and growled in front of me, eyes rolling nearly in madness. "Why—!"

Carefully wiping away some spittle from my cheek from the disgusting man, I gave him my most unimpressed look – the one that cowed Natsu and made Erza rethink herself and her plans. "Jude-san, compose yourself; this is a very unbecoming image to be faced with."

The man's face flushed a heavy mauve in reply and he went back to gritting his teeth.

Taking the brief pause as my cue to speak, I gazed without blinking into Jude's eyes. "I am not here to fight with you, Jude-san, nor cause a ruckus. I am merely here to inform you that, by Law thirty-one of the Mage Law book, I am more than an eligible adult. This means that you have no claim over me and my actions, and that you cannot act against me in any way like the stunt you pulled with Phantom Lord. That is very much illegal, and as I am part of the force under the Magic Councils rule, I can easily detain you for that…scenario."

Smiling politely at Jude and making sure to show as many teeth as I could, I continued to ignore Jude's thunderous expression and calmly made sure that he knew his place. "You cannot marry me off to anyone without my approval, nor detain me from Fairy Tail as I have completely and legally removed myself from the Heartifilia name. I am not Lucy Heartifilia anymore. I am only Lucy; Lucy of Fairy Tail, and that's how it is from now on."

"I apologise for giving you any false hopes," I continued, bowing my head shallowly, "but I merely wished to clarify that. Now, I know that you will have your objections, and that they will be hollow, but go ahead if you'd please."

Instead of answering me, Jude raised his hand to backhand me.

I easily caught his limb, quirking an eyebrow at him as he began to speak, mouth nearly foaming in anger.

"You little wrench! How dare you speak to me like that! You ought to…"

The rest of what Jude was saying was lost to me as I tuned him out; I was not impressed by his reaction. I knew that he was a good man, just twisted by grief, but this was absurd. This was no way to treat a child, and I could feel my anger mounting for all of the hardships Lucy would have felt growing up.

It all came to head, though when Jude spoke up about Fairy Tail. I could take him disrespecting me, but Fairy Tail…?

"—You flaunting that damn mark on your skin makes me sick!" Jude bellowed at me, tugging ferociously at my hand, trying to get his hand free. "You're a little whore with a tramp stamp of a filthy, insignificant—"

The rest of what he was going to say was cut off as I punched him squarely in the mouth.

It was only half-strength, maybe not even that as I didn't want to do lasting damage, but Jude still stumbled back when I let go of his hand. He touched his bleeding mouth and nose gingerly, as if he was scared that he would somehow mangle it further.

"Never talk about my guild like that every again," I spat at him, uncaring that the beautiful carpet was turning an off colour with the blood trickling off of Jude's chin. "I don't care who the hell you are, I will tear down everything that you own and strip you of your identity. Then I'll make you watch as I burn everything you've strived for to the ground."

Totally ignoring the fact that the last part wasn't possible (by my own hands) due to the whole fear of fire and whatnot, I made several crude gestures towards the still shocked and gently dripping Jude before casually tearing my clothes off.

The dress fell in tatters to the ground and I took in a deep breath, enjoying the freedom of having no heavy cloth weighing me down. I didn't feel naked in front of Jude with just my slip and corset on; I felt free and untamed, like how I've always loved to feel, and I couldn't help but give Jude a smile as I turned away, waving my hand just like how Lucy did.

"Have fun with your company and ambitions while you can, Jude, because I'm sure that won't last much longer."

The door slammed behind me, and I walked away to furious screams of rage echoing dully through the corridor.

With that done, it's now time for the important stuff.

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

Gray rolled his eyes as Natsu began to groan as soon as they got on the train that would get them as close as they could to the apparent Heartifilia Estate.

He could tell why Natsu had gone to Erza to ask for directions to the place as she had plenty of maps in her possession and was able to draw information out of any person or live object ever – he shuddered at the memory of what she did to this particular man – but he couldn't fathom why Erza had dragged him along.

Until he found out that it was Lucy that they were going after.

He was more than slightly concerned, especially when the whole situation was explained to him. Then it was a matter of getting Natsu and, surprisingly, Ryos on board a train before they could head towards the Estate.

It would take hours of Natsu's insistent moaning until Erza knocked him out, and some soft whimpers from Ryos who was curled up on Erza's lap getting his hair stroked by her since Lucy wasn't there, but eventually they would get there.

* * *

A door creaked open and the dust that had gathered on the floor of the forgotten room swirled slightly with the burst of fresh air came whistling in to replace the stale, old air.

Footsteps were pressed into the dust as Lucy walked carefully into the room, but she hardly seemed to notice. She barely spared all of the odd trinkets of the room a glance as she walked straight ahead with a purpose.

Straight ahead to the doll sitting innocently on the bench with the torn canvas.

Kneeling down in front of the doll, Lucy offered her a smile before slinging the bag off her back and placing it on the ground. She began to rummage through it – careful not to cut herself on her sword – thankful that she was back into the black singlet, pants and cloak that she had worn to the Estate.

She had to push a fair few bits and bobs that she had just collected from Lucy's room out of the way before she reached what she wanted, but she didn't mind too much.

Placing the objects next to the doll, Lucy placed her hands on her knees and leant forwards to smile into the doll's face.

"Hey there, Michelle. It's me, Lucy, you're big sister. I'm sorry I haven't seen you in years…" Here, Lucy frowned deeply, her eyes shadowed by something dark lurking in the depths of her pupils. "But…something came up." She sighed deeply, looking exhausted. "That's no excuse, and I understand completely if you hate me, but I don't care; I still love you."

The doll dressed in blue stared blankly back with a small smile as Lucy beamed painfully at her. "So I want you to know that I'll be back someday. In your life, I mean. I can't take you with me right now as it means that I won't be able to have you in real flesh. You see, seven years from now a boy will come for you. His name is Midnight and he'll offer you a life in order to join his group."

Lucy shook her head sadly as she fiddled with her keys hanging at her waist. "Their plan is not good at all. They're not evil, per say, but are very misguided and believe that what they will do is right. It's not. They kill people in order to reshape the world, and not in a good way; I don't want to see that happen."

Small, innocent buttons stared into sad browns eyes, and neither smile wavered as Lucy spoke. "So I'd like it if you'd join them, but wait for me to come back. My father will fall from his perch soon, but will eventually reform himself with the merchant guild Love and Lucky. If you go to him, he will give you a piece of the Infinity Clock; I want you to hold onto it until I come back. I'll be gone for a long time, and I'm sorry you have to wait, but know that I love you and always will."

With slender, trembling fingers Lucy picked up the locket that held the photo of Layla and Lucy so many years ago and wound it twice around Michelle's neck. The golden locket hung heavily on the doll's chest, and Lucy carefully stroked it as she picked up the blue ribbon that Lucy had worn throughout the series.

It was tied in a neat bow around the doll's waist, and Lucy offered Michelle one last smile before standing up. "I'm sorry to do this to you, Michelle, but, please, wait for me. And remember that I'll always think of you, even when I'm gone."

Sparing the doll one last look, Lucy slung her bag over her shoulder before picking up the family portrait behind Michelle. She turned on her heel and walked away, out the door and into the sunlight.

The slam of the door signified the beginning of the longest years of Michelle's life.

* * *

"Hey there Layla," Lucy said as she dropped her bag down on the grass and knelt before the angel tombstone of Lucy's mother. "I know that I'm not worthy to be in your presence, not after stealing your daughter's life, but…I hope that you can forgive me. Someday, any day, please."

The blonde groaned and ran her fingers through her unbound hair, feeling tears of frustration begin to bloom in her eyes. "I-It's just…so hard, you know? Pretending to be someone I'm not. Trying to keep this secret from everyone and keeping everything from falling to shit…"

Lucy lay her hand on the cold marble of Layla's tombstone, revelling in the smooth sensation. She then leant her head forwards to rest against the stone, letting the tears roll out of her eyes and to fall and darken the stone beneath her. "I know about the future, Layla, and what it means for everyone, but I'm scared…So scared about it all. But I don't want to burden you with all of this, I just wanted to come here to apologise, and to let old friends come and visit you to pay their respects."

Rocking back on her heels, Lucy drew out two gold keys and swiped them through the air, slightly irritated that she couldn't summon three at once, and that another was missing from the proceedings.

Taurus and Cancer appeared in a flash of golden light, both of their gazes solemn as they stared at Lucy.

"Hey guys," the blonde said softly, clasping her hands behind her back after having quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. "I waited until I brought you guys here to properly verify this, and I was scared to admit it, but I'm not Lucy Heartifilia. I know that Cancer already knows this, and I'm going to talk to Aquarius, but I thought you should know Taurus. I don't care if you hate me – I deserve it – yet I hope that we can still be friends." Lucy tugged her hair with one of her hands, "Even if my existence is a lie."

"I already kneeew about yooour secret," Taurus admitted, looking slightly bashful. "I kneeew that yooou had Luuuucy-san's amazing body, but that yooou weren't really Luuucy-san."

Lucy bit her lip nervously. "Why didn't you say anything, Taurus?"

The bull shrugged helplessly. "What was there tooo say, Luuucy-san? Even thooough yooou weren't the same girl, yooou had the same compassion and love that Luuucy-san did. I was sad that Luuucy-san wasn't around anymore, but yooou were still my summoner, and I didn't mind."

"Taurus is right, ebi," spoke up Cancer, scissors tucked into his belt. "Lucy may have been our old summoner, but you have shown us more love than we've ever experienced before, ebi. Each and every one of our summoners have been cruel to us until we reached Layla." Here, the spirit glanced at the tombstone next to him, sadness evident, even with his eyes hidden behind his glasses. "Even though we do miss Lucy, you are…"

Cancer looked lost for words, and Lucy struggled beside him, unable to comprehend what was going on.

But Taurus had the answer. He lay one of his massive hands on Lucy's head, ruffling her hair softly. "You are _ours_."

Lucy blinked owlishly up at him from under her fringe, her brown eyes so big and lost. "Taurus…" The blonde stepped forwards to hug the bull, and the spirit easily wrapped her up in his massive arms, careful not to crush her body with his immense strength.

When Lucy let go of him, she gave Cancer a quick hug, conveying all of her feelings through the tight grip she had on him. She smiled when he squeezed back, his spindly limbs able to wrap around her and then some.

With that all done and said, Lucy stepped back to let Taurus and Cancer have a moment with their old summoner, only moving to give them candles to light and place on the ground in front of Layla's name.

They stood like that for several minutes before Taurus and Cancer dismissed themselves with quietly sad smiles and waves. Then, it was time to summon Aquarius.

Having had dreaded this moment ever since she had first arrived here in Fiore, Lucy took her time to make her way over to the nearby fountain to summon Aquarius. And when she did, she was met with the meanest of glares to have ever existed on any plane and/or dimension.

"You…!" Aquarius hissed out, tail lashing around the water in anger. "You _dare _summon me _here_ of all places!"

"I'm sorry, Aquarius," Lucy murmured in reply, bowing her head in submission. "I'm sorry for everything; there's nothing more than I can say. I just wanted to bring you here to say that I'm sorry, and to show you to Layla. After that…I can set you up with another summoner, or hide your key so that you won't be bothered. I know how much you want to be with Scorpio all the time, and I'll make sure that you won't be interrupted in dates and—"

"Shut up, brat," Aquarius snarled out, slapping the water with her tail in irritation. "I just want you to explain yourself; why you took away Lucy's life so that you could have hers."

"I didn't want this!" Lucy cried out in reply, tears beginning to stream down her face as she tugged at her hair in frustration and guilt. "I didn't want to take Lucy's life away! I was dead! I should've stayed dead! This never should've happened to me! But of course it happened, because my life fucking sucks!"

Lucy kicked the fountain, uncaring that a crack appeared in the stone from the impact. "Fuck this! I wouldn't be here still if I didn't want to fix things!"

"Fix things how?" Aquarius asked cautiously, beginning to see that there was another (darker) side to the story.

Attempting to smooth down her hair and expression, Lucy blinked up at Aquarius with tired eyes. "In reality, I didn't use any magic to take over Lucy's body. I didn't even know magic was real until I was in Lucy's body; it's always been just a fantastical dream to me, only seen in books and movies and TV."

"TV?" Aquarius repeated, sounding distinctly confused. "What are you talking about? How could you not know of magic? Did you live under a rock your entire life?"

The sour look Lucy sent Aquarius showed just how much she appreciated that comment. "No, I didn't. I lived in another dimension. World. Whatever you wish to call an entirely different place governed by different rules."

Aquarius gaped at her, body movements going still for the first time in Lucy's memories. "A-Are you joking? Are you seriously going to pull my tail like that?" The spirit began to fire up, eyes blazing with righteous anger that was only quelled by Lucy raising her hand up.

"I'm not joking, Aquarius. The place that I was born was on a planet called Earth. There, we had no magic, only science and technology. There, I was also an heiress. But I wasn't Lucy Heartiflia. My name was Tiana Laakson, and now I'm dead." Lucy slumped slightly, some sort of light disappearing in her eyes. "I never did want to wake up again – I had accepted that I had died. And I certainly did not want to take over Lucy's body! I know what she has to go through, and I don't want to go through that."

Aquarius glared at Lucy. "How do you know what Lucy's going to go through? Can you see the future or something equally stupid as that?"

"Or something," Lucy agreed. "In my world…none of this is real. This whole world, the people in it, you, Layla, Lucy; they're just characters in a show. A show that I've watched and memorised. That show tells me everything about what Lucy did since she joined Fairy Tail, and all the struggles she faced. But a show that wasn't real."

"No…" Aquarius muttered, eyes widening in something akin to horror. "What the hell are you talking about? This is real, everything's real. Layla was real, Lucy was real…" The spirit sneered at Lucy, a sharp, bitter look in her eyes. "The hatred I feel for you is real."

Lucy flinched, eyes flickering rapidly. It took her a moment to compose herself after that blow to her heart, but she struck her chin out and continued to talk with an attempt at a steady voice. "This world is real, but only since I've travelled to here. Back in my world it may not be real, but here…here it's real. The friends I've made, the memories, the love…It's real to me, more than the past life I left behind, sometimes."

"Is this meant to make me feel better?" Aquarius burst out. "Is this meant to make me feel sorry for you? To cry tears over the unfairness of it all? Oh, boo hoo," the spirit sneered, "I'm a prissy little bitch whose life is _so _unfair. Well, I'll tell you what's fucking unfair; you taking Lucy's life!"

Lucy's fist imbedding into the fountain beside her face made Aquarius stop, eyes wide with horror as she looked into Lucy's glowering face.

The blonde was normally so composed, and to see her face twisted and screwed up, flushing a bright red was disconcerting in the least and terrifying at best. She glared at Aquarius with bright, rage-filled eyes, leaning in close so that Aquarius could hear every ragged breath that she took.

"Understand this _right now_, Aquarius. Never have I wanted to take Lucy's life from her. I would've rather died than done this." Lucy yanked her hand out of the fountain, keeping it curled up into a fist as she slung it by her side. "Every day I wake up to my mistakes. Every morning I look in the mirror and see Lucy's face staring back at me, fucking accusing me of stealing it. And every time Natsu, or Gray, or Erza, or Happy, or Cana, or anyone in the guild calls my name – Lucy's name – it makes me want to scream that it's not my name!"

Aquarius's lips turned, curling up slightly. "Lucy—"

Lucy took in a deep breath, eyes rolling madly. "MY NAME'S NOT LUCY!" She cut herself off, glaring down at her clenched hands. "Goddamnit, why can't anyone see that?"

As the girl hunched over, lean arm trembling, Aquarius hesitantly reached out, her pale fingers ghosting over Lucy's – no, Tiana's – hair. "Hey, brat, it's okay."

"Okay?" Lucy asked, voice muffled as she pressed her hands to her face. "Nothing's _okay_, Aquarius. You specifically just made it clear that nothing's okay, especially between us."

Closing her eyes briefly, expression torn, Aquarius tried to decide what to do next.

She could hold onto the grudge she had been holding for the past year, despising and loathing the person who held her key and stole her previous summoner's face. Or she could just…_let it go._ Let all of those thoughts and feelings she had towards Tia that were negative, and think only of all of the good things she had brought.

How she summoned Crux just to hear stories from long ago, sat down to let Lyra brush her hair, or brought out Taurus so that they could have a drink together and play games. She traded styles of fighting with Cancer, bought Plue lollipops just to see him dance in happiness, let Vulp doll her up so that she could see the vixen smile excitedly and brag about her skills. Not once did she complain about Virgo's unfortunate tick of asking about punishment, always blushed shyly whenever Andromeda doted on her, and laughed alongside Cenas whenever Sagittarius tried and failed to teach her to shoot with a bow.

Or-or even when she smiled at Aquarius, all bright eyes and teeth as she splashed in the water beside her, having summoned her just to chat and sit in the sun shining bright overhead. The water was cool against Aquarius's skin and she couldn't help but let her lips twitch upwards as she tripped Lucy – Tiana – up by wrapping the water around her ankle.

The blonde's befuddled look that she gave her made Aquarius roar in laughter. Tiana grinned back before getting up to splash Aquarius back, shrieking and laughing as Aquarius dunked her in the creek they were in over and over, breathless in joy.

Drawing herself out of the memory, Aquarius decided.

"I'm sorry," Aquarius whispered as she slipped her hand around to the back of Lucy's neck to draw the girl's head against her chest. "I didn't mean it. No matter who you are, Lucy or Tiana, you're still my summoner, and I wouldn't let you call me if I hated you."

Aquarius didn't know if what she was doing was right, but when Lucy glanced up with big doe-eyes, tears clinging to her lashes and _smiled_. Well, Aquarius felt that things might be alright. Just maybe.

And Lucy felt that to.

"Now with all that done," Lucy said as she disengaged from Aquarius's awkward hold, "how about we go say hello to Layla?"

Aquarius smiled.

* * *

Running over the hill, ignoring the pain in his chest and the picture-perfect scenery around him, Gray tried his best to keep up with Natsu, who was steamrolling ahead with complete disregard for anyone else.

Ryos had stumbled after them at the start, his small feet barely keeping up. Then Happy had taken pity on him and picked him up, flapping a few times to keep them overhead from Gray, Natsu and Erza running below.

They flew above Gray now, Ryos's face screwed up in worry. Gray could tell he was crying from the small droplets that were landing on his head, even though it was perfectly sunny out.

Then, finally, roofs loomed ahead. Great soaring slopes attached to beautiful bricks and windows made of hundreds of panes of glass that made up the Heartifilia household; a mansion.

"Wow," Gray muttered to himself, barely caring when Erza sent him a sharp look as she ran beside him. She opened her mouth to say something but quickly stopped when Natsu skidded to a stop in front of them, nearly causing Erza to crash into him.

"Natsu—!" Erza shouted in her usual scary way, but was cut off once more as Happy dropped Ryos to the ground beside her.

"Lucy!" the small boy called out, racing down towards the small figure draped in black that stood by a statue in front of the mansion.

None of the others hesitated to follow after him, and Gray was close enough to see Lucy's look of shock as she turned, arms automatically going out to catch Ryos when he flung himself at her. She barely caught him, fingers scrambling against his floppy black shirt to get a grip.

"Ryos?" she asked in bewilderment, brown eyes blinking rapidly as she held the boy up. "What are you doing here?"

"You were going to leave me!" the boy wailed in reply, tears slipping from his eyes and snot dripping from his nose as he clutched at Lucy. "You were going to leave me like Skiadrum did!"

Gray managed to see Lucy's body stiffen, even underneath the long black cloak she wore clasped tightly to her body, the ends brushing against her boots. "What the hell do you mean, Ryos? I left you a note saying that I'd just be gone for a few errands."

"You weren't very specific, Lucy," Erza said sternly, arms crossed against her usual breastplate. "But I'm guessing by your reaction that you aren't planning on turning yourself into your father to protect the guild then?"

When Lucy shook her head in a desperate no, arms winding around a tearful Ryos tighter, Erza smiled and nodded. "Good, I was hoping not."

"Yeah," Gray agreed, shoving his hands into his pockets, "otherwise I would've had to deal with baby flame-brain over here crying even more. I didn't need to deal with him bubbling over with tears the whole way here, and I certainly don't need to heading back."

"Hey!" Natsu protested in response, his previously morose expression that he had been hiding desperately shifting into his usual fired up facial features. "I was not crying! I just had something in my eyes!"

"Sure," Gray replied, rolling his eyes in response, "that's why you were whimpering about Lucy leaving you."

Gray could've sworn that he heard Erza stifle a giggle beside him – but that's absurd, monsters can't laugh – but he was more focused on the tears that were beginning to swell up in Lucy's already bloodshot and raw eyes.

"Oh crap," he said, holding his hands out towards her nervously, "I'm sorry. I totally just made you cry again. Shit. Shit. Um, are you okay? What'd I do? Crap."

"Idiot," Natsu scoffed, slapping Gray upside the head much to the boy's irritation.

Erza glared at them both before Gray could make a move, effectively cowing them into being quiet fast enough to let them be able to hear Lucy's choked whisper.

"I didn't realise that you guys would care."

Natsu's head snapped towards her so fast that Gray almost felt himself get whiplash, and his eyes were so intense that he was sure that Lucy would either be set on fire or melt instantly. ""What do you mean that _we wouldn't care? _We've gone over this before, Lucy; we're your nakama, we'll always care." The pink-haired boy stepped forwards to reach around Ryos who was curled up protectively in Lucy's arms, to grasp at her shoulders.

"Listen, Lucy, 'cause I'm only going to say this one more time; wherever you go, we'll follow you."

"Like an annoying rash you can't get rid of," Gray replied helpfully before breaking off with a yelp as Erza punched him in the arm.

But it was worth it when Lucy laughed. A horrible choking laugh that squeezed more tears out of her eyes, but a laugh all the same. And it took a few more moments of joking around, a couple of squeezing hugs and terrible puns to make her smile, but it was a beautiful smile.

Rather than the small smile that Lucy normally gave – no teeth, curved strained lips and eyes wide open like she was afraid someone would get the drop on her if she closed them for a mere second – it was one of massive proportions. Her teeth gleamed as she broke into a grin and her eyes flashed a warm brown – all gooey softness that made Gray feel like he would get trapped in it forever – so different from her usual dark ones with its brittle look like it would shatter at any moment, before she closed them from the force of her cheeks lifting up.

And that smile made Gray feel like the whole trip was worth it.

So what if he had to squish up with Erza and the baggage Lucy had brought on a seat on the train, since Natsu had to stretch on his seat to get his head rubbed by Lucy when he put it in her lap, and that Ryos sat curled up on her other side, content to be close with her? Lucy was coming back to the guild and not leaving any time soon.

And if she did, you'd better bet that Gray would be chasing after her to bring her back home.

* * *

That night, the group of five mages and one cat had a sleepover.

Instead of protesting and kicking them out for asking to sleep at her place like she normally did, Lucy welcomed her friends with open arms and let them in.

Virgo summoned herself to bring in armfuls of soft, luxurious blankets from the Spirit World, and Lyra followed her, raining down plush pillows onto Lucy's floor.

The two spirits helped everyone gather up the blankets and pillows to heap them into a great mound on the floor of Lucy's apartment, having pushed away the meagre two couches and armchairs that Lucy owned as furniture to create space. The result was a large, cosy and comfortable den of bedding that had Happy curling up to doze on as everyone began to make dinner.

It was a precarious affair, as Natsu kept trying to eat the food, Gray had no idea what he was doing, Erza was trying to make everything perfect in an OCD manner, Ryos was getting under everyone's legs, and Lucy was just trying to get the food to not burn. But it worked, somehow.

In between Natsu throwing spaghetti at Gray, the Ice mage throwing back pasta sauce in return and Ryos tossing up a whole bunch of half-raw mince, they managed to get it done.

And the food didn't taste too bad when they sat down at the only table Lucy had, or lounging in one of the armchairs and lounges. They chatted throughout the meal, trading stories and jokes and dreams for the future. Everyone ate at least a bowl, and in Natsu's case, five before they began to get drowsy.

That was when Lucy ordered it was bedtime, much to everyone's excitement.

It was then a rush to clean up, involving too much detergent, wet floors and a rather pissed off Erza who managed to get splattered with left over sauce.

But they managed to get things the way they looked before, and Lucy was happy enough to let them sleep in any manner of dress they liked – even when it meant she had to suck it up and not scream in fright when Natsu and Gray took their shirts off, and then Gray his pants.

It was late that night when they all collapsed into a heap in the rolling dunes of blankets and pillows, absolutely spent from the day's obstacles. It was rough trying to find sleeping arrangements that were comfortable for them all, as Natsu had a tendency to snore and Gray to kick, but…well, they managed, like they had been doing all night.

And so it was to having her head leaning against Erza's, arms around Ryos who was curled up on her chest, and feet slung over Natsu who hugged them possessively that Lucy found herself at peace.

So what if she was stuck in someone else's body, doomed to go through a whole lot of mess that threatened the world? And that every move that she made could have catastrophic effects? She had her nakama beside her, and that was all that mattered.

Finally, Lucy fell asleep with a smile on her face and Gray's hand in her hair as he moved restlessly; and she wouldn't have had it any other way.

* * *

**Omake: Rainbow Sakura**

A sharp sneeze wracked Lucy's body and she groaned pitifully. "Why the fuck does this have to happen to me? I swear to sweet Kami, I fucking hate colds."

The blonde blew here nose with a tissue, cringing at the sound. "Ugh, Lucy got it in the series, and now I've got it at the same time; Fate's a bitch."

Tossing the tissue away with a frown, Lucy continued what she was doing before the sneezing fit had started. Namely, getting ready for the Blossom-viewing Festival.

"Fuck illnesses," she grumbled as she pulled on her usual boots. "It's not going to stop me from going to this Goddamn festival. I've been waiting for this for weeks, and nothing's going to stop me from going!" Nodding decidedly, she tugged on a red sweater over her plain white top, internally thanking the God of Clothing for blessing Earthland to have jeans.

Just as she had wriggled on her jeans did the window bang open and Natsu and Happy came bursting through, landing in ninja poses.

"To the festival, Lucy!" Natsu called out, saluting the dumbfounded girl. "C'mon, we're going to be late! Get your pants on and get a movin'!" He then leapt back out the window, uncaring that Lucy had thrown a spare shoe at his head in anger.

"What did I tell you two about knocking!" she hollered after Happy who dove out of the window with a giggle, sticking his tongue out at the enraged girl as he went.

"Those two…" Lucy sighed, finished zipping up her pants before slinging her belt with her key pouch attached to it, forgoing her sword for once – although she did slide some knives into some secret pockets she had sown into her jeans, hidden from view.

Coughing twice into her hand and cringing at the rasping sensation, Lucy grabbed a bag of foods she had prepared for the day before jumping out of the window to join her partners for a day of fun and games. Hopefully, anyways.

* * *

Spinning around, Lucy clapped her hands to the beat of the music being played through the lacrima that Mirajane had brought to the park, laughing as Levy spun next to her.

The two girls were just a small part of the Fairy Tail crowd dancing to the music. Almost every member of the guild was there; either dancing like they were, sitting down and eating and drinking, or joining in games that were being played in their part of the public park.

Twirling Levy around with her hands, Lucy kicked up her feet before switching partners, grinning when it was a sloshed Cana.

"Hello there, Lucy-chan," the brunette drawled with a wink as she raised her hands over her head, curling them as she jingled her hips alongside Lucy. "How are you today?"

"Alright," Lucy replied with a slightly hoarse throat. "Could be better though." Linking hands with Cana, she crossed them over before doing several arm actions that she had learnt today, specifically for this dance.

Cana let out a small 'Ah' of understanding as she circled around Lucy, linking arms with Elfman for a quick spin before letting going to drop back to Lucy. "That sucks shit for you, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Lucy replied dryly, twirling Cana one last time before the song ended. "It does a little bit. I mean, I don't know what you enjoy – either than booze and sexy men – but getting a cold probably isn't one of them, is it?"

Rolling her eyes at the comment, Cana led the way out of the throng of dancing people and towards where Levy, Mirajane and Bisca were reclining on a blanket.

"Howdy Lucy," Bisca called out when she saw the blonde approaching, raising her hand in a wave.

Lucy waved shyly back, still slightly unsure about the older and more beautiful girl. Bisca was nice and all, but Lucy had never really chatted to her, or even Alzack for that matter, as they always seemed to be off on jobs together – and she wondered how it took them so many years to get together, they were practically inseparable.

"Hello Bisca, Levy-chan, Mira," the blonde said as she knelt on the edge of the pink blanket. "How are you guys today?"

"Fine," Levy said with an incredulous look, "better than you I'm guessing; are you sick?"

Right at that moment, Lucy broke off into a hacking fit of coughing that left her hunched over, sniffling softly.

"Oh, Lucy," Mirajane sighed, standing up to go over and hug Lucy from behind. "You don't sound so good. You should go home."

Brown eyes shot up to meet blue, wide and shocked.

"Mira!" Lucy shouted, sounding scandalised. "I can't leave now, I haven't seen the Rainbow Sakura blossoming! I can't miss it!"

"There'll always be next year," Mirajane replied softly, gesturing to Cana to help pick up the significantly lighter girl. "And we'll tell you all about it, and take photos for you."

Lucy wanted to shout out that there wouldn't be a next year, or a year after that, or even a year after that. The next chance she would have to see the trees blossoming might be after the seven year gap, but then there was dilemma after dilemma that would most likely stop her from going. So, in the end, the next time she might see this festival would be after Fairy Tail is disbanded, with no friends to dance, eat and laugh with. She would be…alone.

Such a thought nearly brought tears to her eyes, but she managed to hide it with a series of sneezes, making sure to cover her face as to not spray her guildmates.

After the fit subsided, Lucy blinked up at Mirajane, who was frowning down at her. "Mira, I really, _really _want to stay. Please…" Attempting to do the puppy eyes like Natsu always seemed to do to her, Lucy was crushed when Mirajane firmly shook her head, completely unaffected by her attempt.

"No, Lucy, I'm not letting you stay here. You look pale and tired; you're doing yourself no good staying here." The ivory-haired girl placed her hand against Lucy's forehead, her frown deepening as she did so. "You're burning up, Lucy. You're nearly hotter than Natsu."

Just then, Natsu popped his head into the group of girls, Happy not far behind him. "Someone call my name? Who called upon my awesomeness?"

"Oh good," Mirajane said, turning from Lucy to smile at the attentive Natsu. "You can take Lucy back to her house for me."

"Take her back?" Natsu asked with a wrinkle of his nose. "Why the hell would I do that when I can stay at the festival and have fun?"

A dark aura surrounded Mirajane as she continued to smile at Natsu. "Lucy's very sick, Natsu, and she seems determined to stay here. I need someone strong enough to drag her back to her apartment and make her stay there, and you're the perfect person for that." The darkness began to writher. "_Right?_"

Wisely, Natsu swallowed down his protests. "A-Aye! I'll be quick!" And before Lucy could protest the boy was swooping forwards to pick her up in his arms in a bridal carry.

Natsu bounded across the open park lands, ignoring his guildmates questions and Lucy's loud protests from his arms.

"Let me go, Natsu!" Lucy yelled out, attempting to roll around in his strong grip. "I want to go back to the festival!" She attempted to say more, but had to break off in order to curl up and cough; it felt like she was coughing up her lungs as it hurt so bad.

"Geez, Luce," muttered Natsu as he dashed through the streets of Magnolia that led away from the park, "are you dying here?"

"Yes, you ass," the girl croaked back in reply, irritably rubbing her dripping nose. "But I'd die happily at the festival rather than at home."

Natsu ignored her as he ran through the mostly abandoned streets of Magnolia, quietly thankful that most of the town had gone to the festival.

As if sensing that he wasn't going to be convinced, Lucy let out a soft sigh and went limp in his arms. She only coughed occasionally as Natsu ran, but shortly her eyes began to droop from the usual dizzy tiredness that she associated with sickness.

She was barely conscious when Natsu scrambled up the wall into her apartment, one arm easily holding her against his side as the other pulled him up the brickwork. He made sure to kick his shoes off and tug Lucy's off for her once he jumped into her bedroom before carefully placing the girl down onto her bed.

She shivered slightly, but a slight sheen of sweat was covering her brow. The blonde rolled over and curled up into a ball, hands clamping the crook of her opposite elbows. "Jesus Christ, it's cold in here. What the hell? Has Gray been here recently?"

"He better not have been," replied Natsu as he stood over her, brow still furrowed deeply in the frown he had been wearing the whole dash here. "But, hey, shouldn't you get under the covers if you're cold, weirdo?"

"Yeah," Lucy chattered back, lips trembling slightly as she scrabbled at her thick, fur blanket. "But could you grab me my cloak from my cupboard? The black one?"

"The one you wore when you went to your asshole-ish dad's?" Natsu asked as he made his way over to a tiny cupboard that housed most of Lucy's clothes.

Lucy made a grunt of confirmation as she burrowed under the blankets, her flushed face only just visible. "Just chuck it over the bed in case I get colder; I always get the chills when I'm sick."

Natsu's face twisted in a mockingly appalled face as he dumped the heavy cloak onto her bed. "Do you need anything else, princess?"

"Fuck you, Natsu," Lucy replied in a rough voice as she dragged the cloak over herself to make a small den of clothing and blankets. "Now, go back to the festival and enjoy yourself. Do it for me, okay?"

Taking one last look at Lucy's hopeful brown eyes shining from her nest of warmth, Natsu nodded and gave her a crooked smile. "Hell yeah I will! That's what partners are for, right?" Without waiting for an answer, Natsu dragged his sandals back on before leaping out of the window to head back to the festival. He did manage to hear a 'Lucky bastard' before he ran out of earshot, though, and couldn't help but frown once more.

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

Blinking blearily, I felt the slow transition from sleep into wakefulness speed up, causing me to instantly become aware of the pounding headache still lurking behind my sleep encrusted eyes.

"Hot damn," I grumbled as I untangled a hand from my blankets to rub at my eyes. "My head hurts…But what woke me up?"

A quick glance around the room revealed no presence of any of my guildmates, not any of my spirits. So nothing in my apartment had woken me…

Then, almost like a strike of lightning to my brain, did I realise that my room was flush in an array of colours that danced and spun across every surface. Reds mixed with blues to create vivid purples, and yellows chased splashes of green around and around.

I couldn't help but let my jaw drop in amazement and realisation. "No…_way_…"

Quickly tossing my blankets back and nearly falling out of my bed, I managed to scramble closer to my window, pushing my hands against the windowsill in order to lean out further to gawk at the sight below.

It was obvious night had long since fallen while I had been asleep, and darkness blanketed the whole of Magnolia, only broken up by pinpricks of stars. And the giant Rainbow Blossom tree that was floating down the canal beside my house, bathing the street in beautiful, ethereal light.

"Oh my God…" I breathed as I took in the amazing sight, barely able to believe my eyes – much like the people in the street below who were gathering to gawk and point at the sight. "N-Natsu…Did he…?"

Barely daring to hope, I removed myself fully out of my blankets to lean almost completely out of the window, swishing my head from side to side to survey the entirety of the street and the soft rain of petals that the Rainbow Blossom left behind.

_There_. Almost invisible in the crowds of people continuing to gather in the street, his pink hair flashing dozens of colours as dozens of different coloured petals were caught in its unruly spikes was Natsu. He was a fair way down the streets alongside Happy who was floating beside him. I was wearing no shoes, and dozens of people separated me from him, but I didn't care.

_I had to get to him._

Jumping recklessly from my window, I landed in a crouch on the ground, hardly caring when I scared several pedestrians into scattering beside me.

Standing upright, I began to run towards where I had seen Natsu. I had to weave my way through the crowd and I was pretty sure I knocked a fair few people over, but I still _didn't care_. The only thing I cared about was seeing Natsu and thanking him for this one chance; this singular chance to see something so beautiful before everything fell to shit.

I think I cried a little as I ran, the cobblestones sliding underneath my feet as I raced on underneath a starred and petal-filled sky. But that didn't matter as I burst through the last throng of people, whipping my head around wildly to search for Natsu.

Petals fell from my hair into my face, but they didn't obscure me from the knowledge that _Natsu wasn't here_.

Panic bloomed in my scratchy throat, and I coughed as I ran on towards the outskirts of Magnolia.

Just as I thought I'd be running off into the forest that fringed Magnolia to search for him, I caught sight of a long white thing go swaying behind a tree at the corner ahead, trailing rainbow petals behind it.

Heart jumping high into my throat, I poured on the speed to race around the corner.

I was greeted instantly by the sight of Natsu, petals still caught in his hair and wrapped around his throat alongside his precious scarf like a necklace of shining gems.

Something bubbled up my throat; warm and explosive, like a stream of fire. It came out in the form of a scream of his name, and I launched myself at him as he turned, his surprised expression caught by the light of the stars and petals.

I crashed into him and wrapped my arms around him, squeezing his arms for all they were worth. My face was buried into his chest, but I barely seemed to care through the happiness that pulsed through me, rippling and waving like a flame.

Someone had done something drastic and wonderful, just for me. Just for _ME!_ Me, and only me. It was – _strange,_ _foreign, unknown, daunting – _pleasant. But at the same time, it was so much more than that.

It stretched out before me, a hundred thoughts that made up this one feeling, but I couldn't quite grasp it. I didn't have the memories and experience to back up these thoughts and that made me frustrated, but at the same time…I knew that I'd eventually get it. Someday, I would understand.

So I simply smiled and laughed when Natsu spluttered out my name, Happy screeching out my name in surprise beside him.

"Thank you so much…" I said in reply to all of his blusters, beginning to blush slightly at out close proximity – perhaps I should let go now? "Thank you so, _so_ much for that, Natsu. You don't understand what that means to me."

A nervous chuckle sounded from above me, and I smiled when I felt Natsu's arm go up in the grip I had it in, without a doubt scratching his head in that sheepish way of his. "W-What do you mean, Luce? I didn't do anything!"

"Nope!" Happy said, voice also tainted with anxiousness. "Nothing at all."

I simply laughed again before leaning back out of my one-sided hug with Natsu, blush still planted firmly into my cheeks. "Sure you didn't, guys."

Still smiling, I reached dup to drag Happy out of the air and into my arms. I gave him a small cuddle as I rocked him, making sure to rub at all of his sweet spots to make him purr. "Even if you 'didn't' do it, thank you so much."

"For what?" asked Natsu in a confused tone. I could feel his gaze boring into me as I stared down at the happily purring Happy. "Seriously, Lucy, what?"

Looking up into his eyes that seemed to reflect the stars above, I absently brushed a petal from my face, internally marvelling at its magnificent shade of blue. "For caring."

Natsu cracked a grin that made his incisors shine. "That's what—"

"Partners do," I finished for him with another small smile. "But still, thank you."

Natsu rubbed his hair sheepishly. "Any time."

I nodded. "I know; I trust you."

The smile that Natsu gave me in return, surrounded by leftover rainbow petals made me blush in return, but I still didn't care; he was there for me, and that's all that counted.

* * *

**Holy shit was that long!**

**I'm sorry there wasn't any action or anything of the likes in there, but I tried to give you as much friendship fluff as I could to make up for it.**

**Now, as for the omake; take it as you wish. **

**You can think of it as a romantic scene as I know many of you will, or you could simply call it the true beginnings of their best friendship; I'm intending on making them more closer than the canon Natsu and Lucy, as Natsu's very protective of Lucy, and I reckon he'd be doubly so with Tia as she's more frail emotionally. And she enjoys all of his antics and laughs at his stupidity, unlike Lucy, and does a whole heck more stuff for him; they'll be close, even closer than Gray and Tia, perhaps.**

**The agenda for the next chapter, however, will be much like this one.**

**It'll be dealing with some small problems again, as well as the Loke arc. They'll also be the Changling omake as requested a long time ago by one of my reviewers, and might have a sneak peek into the main characters minds about Tia and her actions. The Tower of Heaven is beginning after that, but I'm planning to do an entirely different direction for it, so don't expect canon stuff really.**

**Anyways, hope you enjoyed and I'll try and see you soon!**


	19. Loke the Lion

**I tried so hard to write **_**Mimic**_**, but I just couldn't get into it. I'll have to skip its turn – not like many will disappointed, it seems, as many of you are asking for me to update this story. As much as I feel honoured that my story is so popular and many want it to be updated, PLEASE STOP ASKING! I literally have a rotation of my stories upon which I update them one after another – please understand. Yes, I do like updating this story more than my others as it is a lot freer in writing, but I do like to write my other stories – I had a particularly good time in writing **_**Rewind and Fast-forwards**_** perverted and sarcastic humour. So, please, do stop asking for an update. It will be done in due time. Also, I'm a stubborn bitch, so if you continuously ask me for an update, the end result will be me not updating for ages, just to make a point.**

**Just a warning; I'm a mean, cruel bitch if pushed. So, I'm warning you guys now, I will go Alice on your asses if you don't stop acting like a bunch of whinging five-year olds. Sorry for the rudeness, but I'm afraid that I have a short temper and a select few are pushing my buttons.**

**On with the story!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_Since this diverts from canon, I'm pretty sure that I don't own FT._

**Warning: **_The usual jazz. This is a tad bit filler, though. Sorry._

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

Kicking my feet absently, I stared out into the dark of the night as I petted Plue's head. The sounds of Erza, Gray and Natsu engaging in a property-damaging pillow fight broke the peaceful silence, but I wasn't too bothered in stopping them; getting sued for it would remind them of their stupidity and hopefully they would learn from it. Which seemed unlikely, as they were Fairy Tail mages; they're all fucking idiots.

Deciding that I had sat here long enough, I picked Plue up and held him tightly. Sliding off the balcony I had been sitting on to stargaze for the past hour, the silk robe I was wearing slipping smoothly off alongside me to curl around my thighs. It was a tad bit more revealing than what I was used to, but I ensured that the robe was tied tight and didn't hint at any cleavage before ambling off to the shadow that had been lurking nearby for most of the night.

Juvia was so deep in her daze – probably about Gray and whatever quality she was fixated on at that very moment – that she didn't notice me approach, nor sit down beside her.

"Hello, Juvia-san," I said quietly, as to not startle the girl.

Not like it worked very well as the girl jumped about a foot in the air and let out a loud squeak. She landed with a thud before looking at me with a bright red face. "J-Juvia did not realise that anyone else was in the gardens!"

I smiled at her, trying to ease her nervousness. "I apologise if I startled you, Juvia-san, but I just wished to say hello and to ask you why you were looking in upon my friends and I." Shifting so that my legs were tucked underneath me, I held Plue close to me as I awaited Juvia's reply. The poor dear didn't know how to respond to being caught stalking someone; blushing deeper and stuttering wasn't the right response. Lack of experience, I guess.

"Why don't you go in and talk to them?" I suggested gently to the girl. "I know that Gray would be happy to see you are alright after the fiasco between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail."

"You know Gray-sama?" sighed Juvia. "You are so lucky to be in Gray-sama's presence." Her face then took on a darker look as she finally made eye-contact with me, her pretty features made ugly by jealousy. "You are love-rival Lucy! You bask in Gray-sama's presence and keep him all to yourself! You are a wicked girl, love-rival Lucy!"

Barely flinching at the sudden turn in attitude, I offered my hand to Juvia, making sure to keep a trembling Plue close with the other. "It seems like you already know of me, Juvia-san, but I'd like to introduce myself properly. My name is Lucy Heartifilia, and I do not have any sort of interest in Gray Fullbuster either than a purely platonic relationship as nakama."

"You are a liar," shrieked Juvia, the redness in her face now the cause of great anger. "Gray-sama said that he'd protect love-rival Lucy! With his life Love-rival Lucy has obviously bewitched Gray-sama and taken him from Juvia!"

"Juvia," I said softly, turning my offered handshake to a soothing hand on the girl's exposed knee peeking from beneath her own robes. "Gray said that because it is something he'd say for any of his nakama. I am intensely flattered by his words, but it is words of friendship that warm my heart, not of romantic interest. I would lay my life down for any of my nakama, as would anyone in our guild' that is merely how things work."

"But…" muttered Juvia, looking rather lost as she hung her head, "but…"

Tilting my head so that I could catch Juvia's deep eyes from beneath her bangs, I gave her another smile, trying my best to continue the sweet, sappy speech that Fairy Tail mages always seemed to have at the reading going. "Juvia-san, would you like to join Fairy Tail?"

When the girl's head shot up, eyes gleaming in shock and hope, I took that as a yes – not like I didn't already know of her dream to join the same guild as her love interest. "Juvia-san, if you join Fairy Tail you will be welcome with open arms. I can tell you are a kind and sweet girl who belongs at Fairy Tail, and I know that both Gray and I will vie for your acceptance into it. When you join, everyone will adopt the same mentality as Gray has done for me; they will protect you with their very life, as is the Fairy Tail way."

Juvia's mouth gaped, the girl obviously unsure of how to reply to my onslaught of information. But I wasn't done yet.

"Go up there, Juvia-san, and introduce yourself to Natsu and Erza; I know that after they hear your story that they will welcome you to Fairy Tail." I nudged the girl playfully on the shoulder, hoping that I was saying the right things; Natsu was way better at doing the whole motivational speech crap. "Go on."

The blue-haired girl sent an uncertain look over the top of the shrubbery she had chosen to hide behind, obviously drinking in the sight of Erza, Gray and Natsu talking and laughing as they wound down from their pillow fight. Several expressions flitted across her face, like butterfly wings, before it settled into the familiar determined expression that I had always admired on the girl in the series. But rather than heading over to my nakama, the girl turned to me, hand held out in a clear offer.

"Juvia's name is Juvia Lockser. Juvia would like to get acquainted with Lucy-san."

Grinning, I took the soft hand in my own calloused one and pumped it up and down gently. "It's just Lucy; Fairy Tail mage, Juvia-san."

"Just Juvia," the blue-haired girl said in reply with a smile curling her lips. "Aspiring Fairy Tail mage."

"Oh," I said as I stood up, pulling the other girl up with me gently with our clasped hands, "I know you will."

I got a bashful smile in reply and a small blush, which only made my smile widen. "Now, Juvia, head on over to my guildmates and say hello. Just tell them you had a mission in the town and had met me on a starlight walk. I guided you here and told you to say hello before heading off by myself for a stroll – which is the truth. I know you'll be fine, so go have some fun."

"Is Lucy sure that it will be alright for Juvia to barge in?" The ex-Phantom said shyly, peering wistfully through the open balcony to where Erza was reprimanding Gray and Natsu for the damage done to the room – hypocrite.

"Since you're not barging," I said casually as I gently pushed the girl towards them, "I'm sure it'll be fine. But just in case they don't believe that I sent you over, take Plue along with you." All but shoving Plue into Juvia's arms, I gave the girl another encouraging shove as she hesitated some more. "Bye Juvia, I hope to see you later tonight."

Turning on my heel with barely a wave at the girl inching her way towards the balcony, I set off towards the gate that led out of the garden of the hotel we were staying at and into the streets.

Luckily there was plenty of stars out as well as a half-moon to help the sparsely placed lanterns lining the path to shed light on me. This area of the town was rather quiet as it was getting on in the night, so I only had the sound of the wind to accompany me as I walked bare foot down the small path.

The night air was soothing on my skin, blowing gently on the cuts and bruises that I had gathered from our mission earlier on in the day. A few hours in one of the local onsens had done wonders to my aches and pains but I could tell that it would be a day or two before I was back in perfect health.

Just as I finished thinking that I should take Ryos here for a small vacation some time – the boy having opted to go on a small mission with Team Shadow Gear; he loved them so much – I heard far off footsteps echoing towards me from further up the path, coupled with brash, slurred words and laughter.

Tch, drunkards. I always seemed to be dealing with them, but this time it was planned.

Two clearly intoxicated males came stumbling towards me, emerging from the shadows of a nearby tree. Both had rather ugly mugs and I turned my nose up as I caught the sour scent of spoiled alcohol and perfume. Well, well, well, it seemed like there was a red-light district nearby; who'd have guessed in such a nice, tourist-based town. Oh wait, I did. Places like this were full of hidden brothels and questionable dens dealing drugs, and it was obvious these two fellows had just come from a night of drinking and pleasure.

And they wanted more.

"Hey, baaaby," one slurred as he caught sight of me, alcohol-laden eyes brightening up into a lecherous gleam. "What's someone like yooou doin' walking these streets alohhhne?"

"Yeah, you shouldn't be out heeeere alone," the one next to him agreed, swaying on his feet as he shuffled closer to me – close enough so that I could get a whiff of his disgusting breath.

Wrinkling my nose, I leant back from the rather monkey-faced man. "Tequila at this hour, really?"

I got a dopey smile I reply and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Honestly, boys, head back to your room before you do something you'll regret."

"Like what?" the first man asked stupidly, bloated face screwed up in thought.

I sensed him before I heard or saw him, and managed to turn in time to see a fist blur past me to go slamming into Mr Chubby-man's face, a lithe body following after, trailing a silken voice. "Like daring to go at a beautiful lady in my presence."

Before the newly appeared Loke could move to attack the other idiot, my leg went out to trip him up before he could run away. I got a glimpse of the man's drunken face screwed up in terror before my own fist landed against his face with a thud, knocking him out instantly.

Relaxing, I stood from where I had put the man out his misery to gently shake my fist out. I took great pleasure in doing this slowly, to raise the tension Loke must have felt in being so close to a Celestial mage after all these years.

Deciding to put the poor man – spirit – out of his misery, I turned to face him, a smile already on my face. "You know that you didn't need to do that, Loke, I had it under control."

The spirit in question chuckled sheepishly as an arm reached back to ruffle his spiky hair. "Well, I couldn't leave a beautiful girl alone with riff raff like that, no matter how strong she is." He sound nervous as he said it, and I couldn't help but laugh softly.

"You know, I like you more when you're like this, Loke, rather than that playboy attitude of yours." Ignoring the spirit's continued nervous laughter, I jerked my head to the side. "C'mon, I'll treat you to a drink and some food for your act of kindness."

"Oh no," Loke said as he waved his hands in protest, "that's quite alright! I mean—"

"Loke," I said, abandoning my smile for a serious glare, "you shall escort me to this bar and we will have a _talk_."

An almost fearful expression crossed Loke's face, and it almost looked like he would run for a moment. But then he slumped, and all the tension bled from his posture. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, Lucy."

Smoothing my expression back over, I offered Loke a smile before turning on my heel and heading down the path to the bar I knew was nearby; the one that Loke and Lucy had visited in the series, actually.

As I walked, I managed to hear Loke's mutters as he fell into step beside me, and couldn't help but grin.

"_Crazy madwoman. I wouldn't be surprised if she takes candy from babies."_

Unable to resist, I sent a shark-like grin at Loke. "Why would I bother to eat the candy when I can just have the babies?"

Loke could tell that I was joking, but I appreciated it all the same when he put on a theatrical shudder. "What has the beauties of the world come to?"

Oddly enough, I couldn't hold back the blush that crept up my face. When Loke called me beautiful prior it was just an act, but the way he had said it then was so casual; like he's meant it. And although I knew he was complimenting Lucy's face and body, I couldn't help but feel pleased by the compliment. Silly, I know, but I really couldn't help it.

And, unfortunately for me, Loke had managed to catch the pink in my cheeks as he began to laugh. "Who would've thought that the ever poised ice princess could blush? How cute."

"Shut up," I snapped back, punching him in the shoulder as we went down the left part of a fork in the road. "I'm unused to people speaking to me in a way; sue me."

Crossing my arms I tried to ignore the way Loke stiffened beside me, his eyes beneath the usual blue-tinted glasses sliding towards me. "You can't tell me that you've never been called beautiful in your life. That's a lie."

I shrugged, slightly uneasy with the topic. "By perverts and drunkards? Yes. By people who don't mean it? Yes. By people who think that they can flatter me into doing what they want? Yes. But spoken earnestly? Not really…"

"That's impossible," Loke stated firmly, feet following the path's slope to the bar – he obviously knew where I was heading. "A girl like you should be showered in compliments about your beauty, because every word would be true."

Rubbing my arms anxiously, I tried my best not to think about all the times that I had been dolled up as Tia for functions and important dinners for my parent's business prospects. My parents had never really payed much attention to what I was wearing, so busy in revising speeches and going over contracts they wished to offer. Most of the time I go a quick nod of approval from my father or a brief smile from my mother, but both were clinical and brief; they didn't have time for someone who wouldn't get them another connection with China's trading.

"Uh," I mumbled as we approached the brightly lit bar, the door opened invitingly. "I guess I've never really paid much attention."

Both of us knew that I was lying, but Loke was courteous enough to merely smile and usher me into the bar.

It was empty, aside from the bartender. The really, weird octopus-looking bartender with an abnormally large head. However, he wasn't the weirdest thing I had ever seen in this world, so I merely offered him an acknowledging nod as I slipped onto one of the barstools in front of him.

Loke hopped up beside me and signalled for some sake and two of the small shot bowls that was used to drink from.

At the look he gave me, I gently slid the wallet full of money I had been removing from a pocket within my robe back to its hiding place. I didn't feel like fighting against someone as stubborn and chivalrous as Loke tonight.

We both sipped at the warm alcohol after Loke poured it out, trying our best to act casual and natural despite the words hanging between us. The bright lights of the bar did nothing to lighten the veil of words, unable to penetrate the masks that both Loke and I placed so firmly on our faces.

Three shots and a slightly buzzed feeling later I was ready to talk to Loke.

(Un)Fortunately, Loke had beaten me to the punch once again.

"How'd you know?" he asked as he nursed his forth shot, bangs shadowing his naked eyes, the glasses that he wore everywhere discarded on the bar top.

Sighing, I placed my own shot down, folding my hands into each other as to not show my nerves. "It wasn't really that hard, Leo."

A mirthless laugh came from Loke beside me. "And you even know how I really am; I must be the worst secret keeper."

"On the contrary," I replied, "you're quite brilliant at it; no one in Fairy Tail knew that you were a spirit. If I couldn't sense magic as well as I can, I would've been oblivious as well. However, the ring magic you use is fuelled by celestial mage, which is my own."

Loke groaned. "And of course you can sense your own magic. I had my suspicions that you would guess who I was, but when you winked at me after that drinking contest…"

"A stupid thing on my behalf," I said primly, "as it would've scared you, and that was something I didn't wish to happen. If I have caused you any alarm, Leo, than I apologise for it. It was never my intention to get you worked up even more over your entire situation."

There was no reply from my companion. Instead, he opted to lay his head down on the bench, grief written in the curve of his shoulders and the slump of his body. He was a tired and pain-riddled man – which I knew. And it was hard for me to watch such a strong and proud spirit go through such emotional and physical torture.

If I didn't want to free Loke before, out of common courtesy and for Lucy, then damn straight did I want to do it now, to help a suffering soul.

"Leo," I said softly, placing a wary hand on his back. It was warm through his casual shirt and jacket, and I closed my eyes as I leaned into it, to feel the tremors that wracked his body beneath it all. "I know how much pain and suffering you have gone through. It wasn't hard to ask around the Spirit World and learn that the leader of the Zodiac had been missing for nearly three years. It especially wasn't hard to link it up with the death of a Miss Karen, a celestial mage who dies a few days after Leo's disappearance."

Loke's body froze beneath mine, and I would've imagined that he was a statue if it wasn't for the warmth that he excluded.

Very carefully, I began to awkwardly stroke Loke's back, unsure of what to do. I wasn't much of a comforter – much more used to going out to beat the crap out of whoever had hurt a friends' feelings. Most of my experience in comforting was building a pillow fort with my little sister and going to sleep with her curled up in my arms, tuckered out after crying herself hoarse. And the worst part about whenever she cried was that I couldn't go and avenge her; beating up your own parents wasn't something that was smiled upon in society.

So I guess you could say was that I was a novice in comforting people. I seemed to have done a lot more of it since I had joined Fairy Tail – Mirajane over Lisanna, Ryos, Max's mother and sister at his funeral, Happy whenever Natsu was mean to him – but a few weeks wasn't enough to make up for sixteen years of inexperience.

I tried my best to ignore the way that Loke had begun to shake, but when I heard the muffled sobs begin to escape from where his hands were pressed against his face I knew it was time to go.

Tossing some money on the table and adding a generous tip to keep the barkeeper quiet, I gave him a sharp nod that he returned enthusiastically. With that dealt with, I turned to Loke and curled my arms under his shoulders, tugging him up gently.

The spirit was wiping his eyes and quietening his sniffles by the time I got him out of the door, but I wanted a nice quiet place for us to talk and maybe for Loke to rant, so I wasn't interested in sticking around this area.

Extracting one hand from where it was supporting Loke, I pulled my keys from within my robes and selected a silver one. "Andromeda, if you'd please."

Loke stiffened in my grip as a fellow spirit appeared in front of him, eyes wide in terror.

Andromeda was clearly surprised to see the leader of the Zodiac in front of her, but she was always brilliant in strange situations, so she merely gave him a look before turning to me. "I guess it's time, isn't it? Would you like to go there right away?"

I nodded in reply, smiling wryly. "Thank you, Andromeda that would be lovely." Reaching out to my spirit, I grasped her offered hand, making sure to keep a tight grip on Loke as she transported us across Fiore and to a very familiar landscape to Loke.

I had only been to Karen's grave last week with Andromeda so that she knew where to go, so it still took my breath away when I looked upon the magnificent waterfall and the gravestone on the edge of the cliff.

Next to me Loke was just as breathless, but I didn't think his breath was taken away by wonder, more like panic and fear.

"H-How…?" he stuttered out, his wide eyes alighting on me. "How did you…?"

"Know where Karen lay?" I asked him. "I was exploring this area when I stumbled upon it, months ago, and I didn't really understand the importance of the gravestone. It was only when I was working out who you were that I remembered this place and the name carved into the gravestone. After that it was a matter of coming back here with Andromeda, who could transport us here when I called upon her."

A look of understanding crossed Loke's face and he turned to me after wiping his face clean of any emotion. "You planned this all out, didn't you? Us meeting, finding out about Karen…"

Rather than pretending and denying, I gave Loke a pained smile and nodded. "Yeah, I did. I know it wasn't exactly the nicest thing to do, but I couldn't just let you die, could I? You don't have much time, and if you died I couldn't forgive myself."

Loke stumbled back from me, confusion and fear in his eyes. He seemed to choke on whatever he was saying, and I flinched back at the sound.

Taking this as a cue to leave, Andromeda gave me an encouraging smile before disappearing back to her home, leaving only Loke and I, a thunderous waterfall, and secrets and lies to clog the air in between.

"How do you know all of these things?" demanded Loke when he got his voice back. "There's no way you could simply ask people for this information; there's rules in the Spirit World about these kinds of things. Stop lying!" The last part was bellowed out, and my ears rung with his anger as I stared out at the waterfall and the drop to the pools below.

Licking my lips, I decided to not leave anything out; this was no time for manipulation and lies. Here was one of Lucy's greatest and most trusted friends; I couldn't betray her and spit on her name even more if I didn't save him.

"I know these things because…Well, because I've seen it. I've seen it all happen before – and I don't mean in a prophecy kind of way. Where I come from – all sorts of barriers in time and space away – this world is portrayed in ink and words, and later on moving pictures. Where I come from, people like you and Lucy are just characters on a screen or in a book; fictional and amusing. That's where I get all of my knowledge from; parts of your life, including what happened with Karen are shown there."

"That's not possible," Loke stated immediately, but his voice trembled. "I don't understand; you are Lucy. This is all real, not whatever madness you are talking about."

Running my hands through my unbound hair, I supress the urge to scream and cry in frustration; why was this so hard? "I'm not really Lucy Heartifilia, Leo, this is just her body. In my world, I was known as Tiana Laakson. It was only when I died that I woke up in this body and in this world. It was never my intention to come here, but since I learnt of where I was, it has been my intention to set things right; which includes you living."

"I died?" Loke asked in a small voice, and when I looked at him his whole body looked hunched up and folded in a way that made him look diminutive. "So I really did die in the end, huh."

"You didn't die, Loke," I said, making the spirit snap his head up to look at me. "But you just said—"

"I know what I said," I snapped back, rubbing at my temples in hopes that it would soothe the headache that was building there. "I just meant that I don't want you to die at all. Lucy managed to save you, but she cut it very close. After you ditched Fairy Tail she researched just who you were, her suspicions fuelling her. When she found you it was here, with your body failing and disappearing. She nearly didn't save you, but through sheer willpower she managed to get the attention of the Celestial Spirit King, who let you back into the Spirit World."

Shock and wonder was written into Loke's face after hearing that, and a brilliant smile stretched his lips widely. "She sounds like a wonderful girl."

"She was," I agreed sadly. "She was so kind and compassionate; willing to forgive and forget the sins of anyone. She would fight until her last breath for her friends and face down any fears. More than once I've seen her overcome ridiculous odds and come out stronger than ever." A lump in my throat choked up my next words, and I could feel the sting of tears in my eyes. "I couldn't imagine anyone more worthy of living a full life like her and…a-and I took it all away from her. In one moment…I was alive and she was dead. Gone forever."

Silence stretched between Loke and I in that moment, and I tried my best to laugh as I wiped my eyes. "Sorry, that was stupid of me. This is about saving you, not of my own stupid woes."

"Hey," Loke said softly, walking closer to me with hesitant feet, "hey…" When he reached me, I was shocked to see him open his arms out and grab me, wrapping me up in warmth, the musky scent of whatever cologne he was wearing and the familiar hum of his magic. "It's okay…Shh…"

I didn't realise I was crying until Loke was wiping away my tears, his fingers surprisingly soft and tender. I was grateful when he didn't say anything more, simply drawing me closer and hugging me tightly; it was safe and warm. It felt wonderful, and I didn't ever want him to let go.

But between one hiccupping breath and the next, I was stumbling forwards _through _Loke.

When I whirled around I was met with the terrible sight of Loke's form flickering, his face twisted in shock and pain.

"Leo!" I shouted as he collapse to his knees, body shuddering against the pain of his entire existence being torn apart into specks of magic to be absorbed by the world.

Dashing forwards I slid to a stop beside him, cursing the fact that we were both kneeling in front of Karen's gravestone, just like in the series. Only, this time, I wasn't wasting any time to plead for Loke to hold on and try; he had been doing it for three years, it was time for him to rest.

And time for me to help him.

Slipping my arms beneath Loke's barely substantial back, I cradled him close. "Don't worry, Leo, I can do this. I may not be Lucy, but you'd be damn sure I'm not letting one of her friends die."

"Wait," Loke said, his voice wavering in and out along with his body as he grasped at me. "You can't…"

Ignoring him I drew upon every drop of magic I possessed. It swelled up inside of me, making my ears hum with the pressure of evoking all of my power. I closed my eyes as my body began to glow a blinding golden colour and focused on the connections I had with all of my spirits.

It was almost like having doors in my head, representing the gates belonging to each of my spirits. Most of the time they were closed, and it took surges of magic for me to open each one after another, but I ignored such thoughts.

I had broken so many rules of life and magic before, what was another?

Taking in a deep breath I forced my magic out in a huge pulse, focusing on slamming each of those doors open.

Almost instantly I felt most of my magic flush out of me, making me gasp out the breath I had been holding. It felt like someone had punched me in the gut and was continuing to drill their fist further in to inflict more pain, but it was okay; I could feel all of my spirits presence around me, blanketing Loke and me in.

Opening my eyes, I looked past all of my spirits to the great drop of the waterfall. My body was trembling with the effort of holding so many gates open, but the sensation of Loke literally slipping through my fingers gave me the strength to shout into the void.

"HAS LEO NOT SUFFERED ENOUGH? WOULD YOU DAMN ONE OF YOUR FAITHFUL SPIRITS IN THE NAME OF A LESSON HE LEARNT YEARS AGO? A LESSON HE DIDN'T NEED TO LEARN BECAUSE IT WAS NEVER HIS FAULT! I'M CALLING UPON YOU RIGHT NOW, CELESTIAL SPIRIT KING, TO REVOKE THE BANISHMENT OF LEO THE LION! YOUR JUDGEMENT WAS WRONG AND I WANT YOU TO LET LEO BACK THE SPIRIT WORLD!"

My throat was raw with my screams and I was gasping with effort, but I continued to yell and plead, hoping that my poorly constructed words were enough to portray my feelings to the Celestial Spirit King. I wasn't Lucy, I couldn't cry and spill my heart out and make things better. I just couldn't do it. But this had to suffice. IT HAD TO!

"Please!" I cried out, feeling tears of frustration come to my eyes. "Please let him go back; he'll die otherwise!"

"Stop it," Loke murmured in my arms, his eyes flickering wildly. "It's useless."

Resisting the urge to smack Loke across his face, I glared down at him. "It's not useless. You're not useless." Turning back to the drop at the edge of the cliff, I went back to my angry screams. "WHAT'S USELESS IS YOU, MOUSTACHE MAN! IF YOU DON'T LET LEO GO BACK TO THE SPIRIT WORLD, SO HELP ME! I WILL EXPELL ALL OF MY MAGIC HERE RIGHT NOW AND WRENCH A GATE OPEN! THEN MY DEATH WILL BE ON _YOU_, ASSHOLE!"

Loke's eyes were wide and panicked in his pale face as he continued to protest against my actions, but the words died in his mouth as the water falling in a curtain nearby slowed to a stop, water droplets hanging in the air by an all-powerful force. The wind that had been swirling around us died away and the sounds of the world around us disappeared, snuffed out completely.

My spirits around me disappeared as I relaxed and let their gates slam shut. But I barely spared them a glance as I was too busy staring up at the stars.

The pinpricks of light were swirling around in a circle, like some sort of god had grabbed the sky and spun it around the Earthland. It was beautiful in a dizzying way, and both Loke and I were completely enraptured by the sight.

Right in the centre of the lightshow a glow slowly broke through the darkness, casting a brilliant light down upon us. It expanded and shone at a brilliance that made me cover my eyes, lest I be blinded.

When I felt it die down and deemed it safe to look again, the Celestial Spirit King was standing in front of me, easily two-storeys above me even though I was on a cliff and his feet were in a pool of water hundreds of metre below.

Although he had seemed almost comical in the series, the Celestial Spirit King excluded a presence that would've brought me to my knees if I weren't already on them. It wasn't a malevolent aura – nothing of the sort – but simply so huge and powerful that it nearly suffocated a weak human being like me.

"No way…" Loke gasped in my lap. "He wouldn't come for something as insignificant as this!"

"Your life isn't insignificant," I managed to hiss at Loke before the Celestial Spirit King's voice was ringing out, even though his mouth didn't move.

"_Old friends…"_

I had always been confused and mildly irritated by this form of address that the King offered, and I frowned at him as he spoke. "Excuse, m'lord, I don't mean any disrespect, but I am not an old friend. We have never met before, and I think it would be best if I introduced myself—"

"_There is no need, old friend," _the Celestial Spirit King hummed in answer. _"I know you well already, old friend. I helped guide your soul through the dangers of space and time to here, did I not?"_

"W-What?" I choked out, shocked by the sudden turn in events. "You mean…You were the one who brought me here? You placed me in this body?"

"_Yes and no. It was not my intention to bring you here; that was the wishes of a being much higher than me. But I helped to place your soul in that body of my old friend's, as I was instructed to."_

Here was the answer to all the questions that had been gathering in me since my arrival here. This ancient being was the answer to all of my fears and hopes; I couldn't let that go to waste.

"Please," I all but yelled at the Celestial Spirit King, "tell me; who brought me here and why! I need to know!"

My breath caught in my throat when, instead of answering, the Celestial Spirit King gave me a shrug in answer. _"I cannot tell you the answer to those questions, old friend, as I do not know them myself. If I could ease your pain, than I would do so willingly."_

Even as all of the hope and excitement that I had built up just moments before came crashing down, I managed to shove it to the side to deal with later; Loke needed me now. "If you wish to ease pain, than ease Leo's; Karen's death was not his fault and you know it. I know that you needed a scapegoat to enforce the laws, but it has been long enough; it is time for you to bring Leo home."

When the Celestial Spirit King began to mildly protest against this, I held my hand up in a stop sign. "No. I don't want to hear any of your weak excuses. You _will _send Leo back home _right now_. If you do not then you can say goodbye to your 'old friend.' I will revoke all of my powers as a celestial spirit mage. That means that when you have a problem, I will not lift a single finger to help you; that's a promise of a lifetime."

Sure, it was a bit extreme, and it was obvious Loke agreed by his expression, but both the King and I knew that it was only a half-truth and a strong bluff. I would not leave my friends to suffer, but I sure as hell would hold the biggest grudge against the King and do everything in my power to make life harder for him.

Call me a bitch, but it was true.

The Celestial Spirit King seemed to be thinking over my demands, though, so I held my breath that I hadn't been too demanding and rude. A being with as much power as the King could easily smite me with barely any effort.

"_You are right, old friend. I have been hasty in my judgement." _The Celestial Spirit King said to me. He then turned his attention to Loke, who flinched under his gaze. _"I have been too hard on you, old friend. I believe it is time for you to come home."_

An almost heartbreakingly hopeful expression came upon Loke's face as he gazed up at his king. "Y-You mean…I can come back to the Spirit World? I can become a spirit again?"

"_Yes, old friend. You may come back now if you wish. In return, though, you shall become old friend's spirit and stay with her."_

"Yes!" Loke shouted out happily. "I would love to!" I didn't know if he was talking to me or his King, but I smiled all the same.

The spirit struggled to sit upright in my arms so I helped him up gently, a grin covering my face the whole time. Just as Loke was going to get up on his feet a golden glow began to envelop him, lighting his features up.

"I'm going home!" Loke cried out joyfully as he began to disappear back into his world. He managed to turn to me, half of his body already disappeared into a whole other world and gave me an earnest smile. "Thank you so much for what you've done, I won't ever forget it. But as soon as you summon me, we're going to have to work out what I call you." The spirit struck a mocking thinking pose, even with half his arm gone. "I'm thinking something like 'my princess.'"

"Sorry, Leo," I laughed out as I gave him a wave, "but Virgo already calls me that. Bye!"

A hollow 'Noooo!' echoed out from Loke right before he disappeared completely, leaving only some sparkling motes of magic to drift through the night.

When I looked up, the Celestial Spirit King had disappeared as well, and only the stars, the wind and a gravestone remained; my only company.

"Crap," I muttered as I looked around the empty glade, "how am I going to get back? I don't have enough magic to summon Andromeda and no trains are operating at this time of night."

Glancing around the beautiful, quiet glade I figured that there were worse places I could've been stranded up. "Well, it's no too cold, so I guess I'm sleeping here tonight." And looking around at the soft grass, majestic waterfall and glittering stars above there were worst places I could be.

With that thought I rolled over so that I was lying on my back, gazing up at the stars overhead. I stargazed for ages, barely noticing the time slip by until I was suddenly deep in sleep. I didn't walk up until the next day, feeling refreshed and happy.

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

"MIRA!"

The urgent cry of her name had the barmaid nearly dropping the glass she was currently cleaning, only just managing to catch the handle before it shattered on the bench.

With a pout marring her pretty features she turned to the group who had stormed up to her workspace. "Natsu! I nearly dropped my glass; be a little bit quieter, please."

"That doesn't matter," Natsu said brusquely as he slammed his hands down on the counter. "Lucy's missing!"

Happy nodded beside him, tears pouring down his face. "We can't find Lushy!"

Mirajane covered her mouth as she gasped. "No! Not again! Where did she go missing from?"

She was answered by Erza who was as imposing looking as ever with her stern glare and crossed arms. "According to Juvia she went on a walk. That was around ten at night and she never came back to our housing."

A rather timid looking blue-haired girl who had to be Juvia stepped forwards, eyes shadowed by her long eyelashes. "Lucy's Plue disappeared from Juvia's arm an hour after Juvia last saw Lucy. Plue-san never came back either." The girl wrung her hands, a sign of nervousness. "Juvia swears Juvia didn't mean for Lucy to go missing. Lucy promised Lucy would be back soon after Lucy's walk." Suddenly the girl burst into loud wailing tears that swiftly began flooding the guild. "Juvia didn't mean to let Lucy go missing! Juvia's sorry!"

Hiding her amusement and endearment at Juvia's way of speaking with a motherly frown of concern, Mirajane looked to Gray for more answers. "Was there any ransom note? Was she kidnapped? Did—"

"Holy shit was that a long walk!" a familiar voice rang out through the guild, interrupting Mirajane's questions. "Never again am I doing that barefoot! It sucked royal hippogriff."

Natsu, Gray, Erza, Happy and Juvia spun on their heel to see a familiar red-tipped blonde come stumbling into the guild; barefoot, dressed only in a robe and grass caught in her hair and stuck to her back.

"Lucy!" the collected group called out joyfully before running over to the girl.

"Where have you been?" asked Erza stiffly. "We've been worried sick." The red-head didn't wait for Lucy to reply as she grabbed the girl's head and slammed her into her breastplate in her twisted form of a hug.

"Gah!" Lucy said intelligently. She then collected herself enough to try and wriggle out of Erza's grip, but the red-head didn't release her until she had gotten her fill of comfort.

When Lucy got room to breathe and straighten up, Natsu was suddenly swooping in and picking her up. And not in a hugging kind of way but merely picking her up by putting his hands under her armpits and raising her up so that he could glare eye to eye with her. "Where the hell were you? Who kidnapped you? I'll burn them to a crisp!"

"Natsu!" the blonde squeaked out as the dragon slayer began to shake her back and forth impatiently. "I wasn't kidnapped! Now put me down **right now**!"

At the growl Lucy's voice took on, Natsu wisely dropped the girl to shuffle back and cower behind a floating Happy.

Dusting herself down, Lucy sent one last distrustful glare at Natsu before she composed herself. "Sorry that I couldn't get back to you guys, but I had used up all my magic so I couldn't summon Andromeda to take me back to the motel."

"Who'd you fight to use up all your magic?" Gray asked carefully.

"Oh no," Lucy said, "I didn't fight anyone. I used all of my magic up in opening all of my spirit's gates."

"Isn't that highly dangerous and impossible?" Mirajane asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Lucy agreed with a shrug. "But I had to; it was the only way I could get the attention of the Celestial Spirit King so that he could let Leo back into the Spirit World, lest he die."

"…I feel like there's a story here," Gray deadpanned, "but I can't seem to find it."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "It'd be better if I show you. I think that I might have enough magic to summon him…"

But before Lucy could even grab her newest golden key there was a flash of golden light that signalled that one of her spirit's was coming into their world. When the light died down, the entire guild was shocked to see Loke standing there. Only, he was now wearing a swanky suit and had much longer hair, giving him a sleeker, but manlier rugged look.

"Loke?" Gray asked in disbelief. "Y-You're…?"

Said spirit placed a hand to his heart, the other sweeping his hair back dramatically. "One of Lucy's beloved spirits? I am now. My angel saved me last night and granted me new life. In return, I pledged myself to her as her faithful knight-in-shining-armour."

"But aren't you a Fairy Tail mage?" Natsu asked, confusion written in the lines in his face. "I don't get it."

"He's still a Fairy Tail mage," Lucy answered for Loke. "Unless I say otherwise, Loke will bear the mark of Fairy Tail and answer Master's call. If I wanted to remove him from the guild, I could strip him of his mark. But I would _never _do that; that would be so cruel!"

At that moment majority of Fairy Tail grasped how much power Lucy held over her spirit's. They had always seemed so free and reckless – always pushing Lucy's buttons and causing unnecessary havoc – but it was only because Lucy's heart was too kind to bind them and reign them in. If she was a bad person, she would've stripped Loke from his guild mark and banned him from ever acknowledging another Fairy Tail mage again.

It was a scary thought; that this pretty blonde girl could ruin someone's life so easily with just a few commands.

"I'm glad that you're still a member of Fairy Tail," Mirajane said with a sweet smile, "but why don't you explain everything from the beginning, ne?"

Before Lucy could speak, Loke was launching into the barest details of his past, sketching out the backstory for the fantastic tale that had been created last night. It involved a lot more splendour and exaggeration than Lucy would've liked – evident by her scowl – but she stayed quiet; she would just have to get used to Loke's quirks.

After some idle small talk afterwards and the integration of Juvia into Fairy Tail – not many protested as both Gray and Lucy vouched for her _intensely_, and the girl seemed rather sweet and shy – Loke was whipping out some familiar tickets to Lucy and offering them to the collected group.

"I _was _going to take a bunch of lovely ladies to Akane Resort, but since I'm under my Angel's rule I'm currently indisposed." The flirtatious wink Loke sent at Lucy let them know that he meant absolutely no hard feelings – it also had the added bonus of making Lucy blush. "I insist that you guys take it; have a relaxation period. Go soak up some sun and win yourselves a fortune. Go wild."

Smiling broadly – even though she knew what was going to happen half-way through this little vacation – Lucy reached out for the tickets offered to her. However, the surprising arrival of a messenger bird bearing the council's mark and a large package halted her movements.

Much to the surprise of the gathered populace, Lucy's sun-kissed paled to a sickly white, highlighting the darkness of her eyes as they popped out in shock. And fear.

Ignoring everyone's questions around her, Lucy snatched up the bag from the little bird, barely acknowledging its presence before she was studying the letter that came with it.

The bird took this as its dismissal and chirped lightly before darting out of the guild, happy to be free of the weight of the package and of fear; the council's face had been grave when they had called upon the messenger bird. The fact that the bird also knew that the tag attached to the package – a black in colour – meant that this was a heavily hushed up, S-class mission; very few were gifted with these kinds of missions, as the Magic Council rarely went to such extremes to solve their problems.

The little bird _did not _envy the blonde who had to complete this mission. No sir.

"What's in the package, Luce?" Natsu shouted out, oblivious to the tension coming off the blonde staring at the parcel in her hands. "Let me see!" His hands reached out for the package but were swiftly batted away by Lucy, who used a lot more force than she normally would, making Natsu's hands sting from the contact.

The blonde's eyes were wide as she looked at Erza, sweat gathering on her brow. "Tell Levy that she'll need to watch over Ryos for a few more days; I don't know when I'll be back from this mission." She then turned to snatch up the tickets Loke still held limply in his hands before shoving them into Gray's hands. "Go to the resort without me and take Juvia instead; I know she'll love it."

It was true – the blue-haired girl was ecstatic to go to a resort with her Gray-sama, where she could show off her bikini to him – but Juvia knew that this wasn't a moment to go off into a blissful tangent; something was very wrong with her new friend. She was unstable and shaken; very far off the utterly composed girl that she had met last night. It was unnerving for Juvia, who had just met the girl, so she couldn't even begin to comprehend how it felt for the others, who were so much closer to her.

"I'll see you guys in a couple of days," Lucy gasped out to her friends, eyes already darting towards the door. "Tell Master that I've got a black tag from the Council, he'll understand."

"But Lucy," Erza started, clearly confused by the entire situation, "What—"

"No time to talk!" the blonde yelped out, tucking her package under her arm and scrambling for the door. "Be safe! Don't follow me or you'll regret it!" She added the last bit when it looked like Natsu would follow with Happy, and the boy wisely stayed put; even though it was clear that he didn't like it.

"C'mon Loke!" Lucy called out to her dumbfounded spirit, who quickly sent a glance at her guildmates before shooting out the door after his summoner; he wanted to know what was going on.

He wouldn't get his answer until Lucy arrived at her apartment, however, and even then the girl was distracted as she darted around the apartment searching for something.

"What exactly do you mean that this is an assassination mission?" Loke asked incredulously from his position on Lucy's lounge, out of the way from her whirlwind activity. "The Council forbids any killing of other mages unless it's an accident or in absolute self-defence; they would never authorise such a mission!"

"That's because they don't really authorise it," Lucy replied as she moved aside a portrait of herself, her mother and her father on one of her walls, revealing a section of wall that was a slightly different colour from the rest. "They don't broadcast these missions; they only tell the mages who they hire to do these jobs."

Loke frowned as he crossed his arms across his chest, eyes still trained on the blonde who had removed the section of wall behind the painting and was drawing a bag from inside it. "And they've decided to hire you for one of these jobs, why?"

"Because I have experience," Lucy replied tersely as she dumped the bag on her bed beside the package that had been delivered to her. "I don't especially like these missions, but I understand the importance of them and complete them better than most of the other mages the Council hires."

Standing up, Loke ran agitated fingers through his hair before stalking over to stand by his summoner. "Do you do it for the money? The Council? C'mon, Lucy, why are you doing these kinds of missions; you're way too young!"

The blonde's hands stilled from where they had been fussing with her bag, but slight tremors in the appendages let Loke know just how wound up she was. "The money? Sure, it pays _really good_, but it disgusts me to hear that you think that's why I do this, Loke. And I wouldn't do this for the Council _ever_; I'm not that desperate to be in their good graces. As for being too young for these kinds of things…Well, Loke, you're years too late to tell me that."

Loke recoiled from the dark tone that Lucy had used, guilt and worry chewing away at his stomach. "Then why…? Why would you do this?"

"Because it helps people," came the curt reply, "and that's all I live for."

With that, Lucy zipped open her bag, revealing leathery materials of black and grey. She pulled out a one-piece, skin-tight suit that covered all off her body except her hands, feet and face. It was made of the same material as her usual vest, simply dyed a black.

Next, she pulled out a set of gloves in a softer material andcolour, but still tough enough to endure any hard hits. They went with the short boots that she pulled out, seamless and lace less in their design.

Gathering these objects up, Lucy turned on her heel and headed to the bathroom to get changed, leaving Loke alone with the package that had remained a mystery the whole run here from the guild.

The spirit knew that he was unable to hold back the curiosity that had been eating away at him since the package had arrived, so he decided that he might as well get the big reveal over and done with.

Slashing the bindings open with his magic, Loke barely wasted a second before flipping open the box to reveal its mystery contents.

Glaring at him from the top of the contents was a bunch of photos and information put together in a portfolio kind of way. Only, it was made up of the information and photos of a murderous dark guild called Shattered Bones rather than anything a normal portfolio would hold.

Carefully moving the stack of paper aside – catching a glimpse of the stamp of _exterminate _that was placed heavily onto the outcome of the mission – Loke stared down into the other objects carefully pack into the box, kept safe by foam and bindings.

A handful of odd black objects, shaped like irregular right angles of different sizes were careful stacked on top of one another. They looked like smaller and much more modified versions of the guns that Bisca and Alzack used, but Loke was hesitant to name them so casually. They just looked so…_different_.

While he knew how dangerous the guns that Bisca and Alzack wielded could be, it was only because of the reputation his guildmates had. The guns in this box looked deadly without even trying; who knew how much more hazardous they'd be in Lucy's hands.

Picking one up carefully and marvelling at the cold sensation the metal held, Loke fingered the odd tube coming out from the handle of it. Each gun had one implanted into it, and they all lead to a leather bracelet that looked a lot like a modified SE plug.

Did these contraptions run off magic? Lucy's magic?

So deep in thought, Loke was, that he didn't even notice that Lucy had finished changing until she was reaching over him to tug the gun from his hands.

"Modified guns that run on magic," Lucy said to Loke, confirming his thoughts. "I had the Council design them specifically for such missions. They're too dangerous to keep on me, and they react poorly with the Spirit World, so I keep them at the Council. Whenever they send them to me I know that I have another one of these types of missions."

"Ah," Loke said briefly, mind temporarily shorted out by the sight of Lucy in a skin-tight suit.

It hugged to the curves he'd never been able to see under her billowing clothes, and emphasised the bust she tried so desperately to conceal. Partnered with the boots, gloves and belts she was slinging around her waist and back to slide the guns into, she looked like the epitome of a sexy assassin with her hair slicked back impeccably into a high ponytail.

"I won't protest about these missions anymore if you keep wearing that outfit," Loke said truthfully, trying not to drool.

Much to his amusement, Lucy blushed heavily before hurrying to put her sword on her back and swing a long cloak over herself to hide her body. "Stop it, Loke."

Smothering the pout he wore when she covered up with a charming grin, Loke offered his arm to the girl who was gathering up a ready-made bag full of supplies – including food, water and the information on the dark guild she was entrusted to take down. "Shall we go, my Angel?"

"Is that what you've decided to call me?" Lucy said jokingly as she took his arm, still trying to hide her lingering blush.

"Well, it would be hard trying to explain why I call you Tia," Loke said as they headed for the door, "and I like Angel better."

"Whatever you say, Loke."

"I'm just glad you decided to call me Loke again; Leo brings back too many memories."

"Duly noted."

"Off we go to save lives in sexy suits in style?"

"Off we go."

* * *

**That wasn't very hard to write, which surprised me greatly. **

**I know it was a fair bit of a filler, but it's fixing up the Loke situation and setting us up for Tower of Heaven. Well, not really, but you'll see.**

**Anyways, someone asked for the Changling omake, and I'm happy enough to deliver it, even though it hasn't been changed too much. Sorry.**

**Everyone will be referred to by whoever's body they are in, just to clear up any confusion.**

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

By the time Lucy realised just what was going on, she was too late in stopping Natsu from reading out the strange words he had found on the mission sheet pinned up on the board.

There was a puff of sparkling smoke that managed to cover the group of Happy, Erza, Gray, Natsu, Lucy, Loke and the two spirits she had summoned for that day; Cenas and Vulp.

'Oh Kami,' Lucy thought to herself as she felt a gut-wrenching yank on her soul, 'this better not be what I think it is…'

After the odd tumbling sensation of her soul being tossed around had settled down alongside the smoke that had obscured her vision, Lucy let out a long suffering sigh. Only, it didn't come out in her usual voice.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Gray's voice growled out as he kneaded his forehead. "I can't believe this just happened."

Most of those who had been caught up in the cloud of smoke were still coughing and spluttering, trying to assimilate themselves with the change, but Natsu was busy trying to sneak away out of the guild to escape from Lucy and the spirits she had summoned.

Well, his body anyways.

"Come back here," Gray's-body-who-was-holding-Lucy snapped out right before talking Natsu-who-was-Loke to the ground. "No one's leaving here until we fix this!"

Natsu squeaked pathetically in response, which should've been the guild's first clue as to something was wrong.

Their second was the way that Lucy dropped to her knees screaming bloody murder, clutching at her breasts the entire time. "Oh God! It hurts so bad! I feel like I'm being ripped into two!"

"Quit being melodramatic," Gray snapped, slapping Lucy over the head as he walked by with a terrified Natsu being dragged behind him. "They're just some chest bindings."

Elfman watched with wide eyes as Lucy didn't jump up and hit him back like she normally would, but rather continued to moan and clutch at her chest; just what on Earthland was going on here? Was the whole guild going mad?

Apparently so as he watched Happy stand with new found confidence and sternness as he demanded to know what was going on. Behind him, Erza blushed excitedly as she squeezed at her own breasts, seemingly fascinated with them. "Look! Look! I have boobies!"

Oddly enough, instead of perving at the free show like Macao and Wakaba were, Loke was simply laughing at Erza as he rolled on the floor. "That's hilarious!"

He was quickly shut up, though, by Cenas stumbling back to stand on him with his horse hindquarters, looking confused and unstable. What was worse was that he spoke in a cute, squeaking way, like a teenage girl. "What's going on~? I don't understand! Lucy~! Luuuucy! Help me!"

Nearby, Vulp stood stock still as she took in the entire situation with wary eyes. She looked tense and serious as a warrior assessing potential enemies. That image was quickly broken by her tail swinging madly around to smack her in the face, making her stumble backwards before falling over the heels that she normally walked in with practised ease. "Wah!"

It was a pandemonium of confused screams and awkward flailing, and no knew what to do.

Except, it seemed, Gray – which was ridiculously odd.

Standing in the middle of the chaos caused by the newly insane members – well, more insane than usual – still holding onto Natsu, Gray lifted his fingers to his mouth before blowing out a shrill whistle worthy of a New Yorker.

It effectively stopped all of the panic – and made Natsu nearly cry in surprise and confusion as he clutched at his sensitive ears – and Gray glared at them with one hand on a cocked him in a deceptively feminine way. "You lot; shut it!"

The angry shout silenced the last of the unhappy cries coming from Happy and Cenas's squeals, and everyone turned their utmost attention to the Ice mage.

"Okay, I know you're all confused," Gray drawled, which was an understatement. "But I can fix this stupid mistake that Natsu created." Strangely she glared at Loke as he said this, who had the decency to look bashed for whatever reason.

"Let me just establish who's who," he said to the confusion of most of the guildmembers. The man pointed at Cenas, who held his hands in startled confusion. "You're Vulp, and you've swapped bodies with Cenas. Now move yourself off of Natsu, who has swapped bodies with Loke." When the spirit awkwardly shuffled off of Loke's body, completely unaccustomed to having the hindquarters of a horse, Gray gave a proud nod. "Good, good. Now, Happy, stop touching Erza's boobs; she's obviously unhappy in being in your body so stop tormenting her even more."

"Aye sir," Erza said sadly, the cat in control of her body relinquishing the hold he had on her chest. "That bossy voice could only be meanie Lucy."

Narrowing his eyes at the redhead, Gray nodded sharply. "Yeah, I'm Lucy, and Gray's in my body–Oh quit whining, Gray, chest bindings are nothing. Stop being melodramatic."

Rocking back and forth on the ground, tears pooling in her eyes, Lucy whispered to herself. "I'm never teasing Lucy for being weak ever again; these things feel like I've been stabbed in the chest."

"I'll show you stabbed in the chest," Gray muttered darkly as he surveyed the room. "Where the hell is the paper you read off, Natsu?"

Looking up from where he had been forlornly rubbing his bruised stomach, Loke sent a sheepish grin at Lucy. "Loke's got it in his hands from where I grabbed it, Bast—Lucy!"

The glare Lucy continued to wear on her face as she pried the piece of paper from Natsu's drooped form hanging from her other hand – he was trying to hide his face from Cenas and Vulp, never mind that it wasn't his face anymore – showed how unamused she was by the slip of tongue from Loke.

After recovering the paper and smoothing it out, Gray began to haltingly read the words backwards, which would dispel the effects of the spell Natsu had stupidly read out.

However, Lucy didn't have much knowledge on the language or even how to read it backwards, so in Gray's body she incorrectly read out the words, which had a catastrophic influence on their affected bodies.

When the puff of smoke created by the completion of the spell died down, the guild instantly recoiled at the sight that met them.

"I should've let Levy-chan read this," Lucy deadpanned as she took in the condition of her nakama. "Damn pride…"

"I can never escape!" Gray screamed out as he clutched at the breasts attached to his own manly chest, courtesy of Lucy. "The pain!"

The boy's pain was so great that he didn't notice that he now had long, flowing pink locks to go with his breasts – a mixture of Lucy and Natsu – but Natsu certainly did.

The dragon slayer was roaring with laughter as he rolled about on the floor, unable to get over the image of Gray running around in panic with breasts and girly hair. He was so deep in his mirth that he didn't notice of Happy tottering over to him with one long leg belong to Vulp and the other a horse leg from Cenas.

"Natsu!" the cat wailed as he stumbled over to his closest nakama. "I can't hear anything!"

"That's because your ears are on Natsu's bald head," Erza said absently as she checked out the fluffy fox tail and ears she had been gifted with, uncaring that Happy couldn't even hear her – who cares if she one of her arms was currently sticking out of a significantly scared Cenas's chest, she had foxy appendages!

At seeing Happy's tiny body on long, mismatched legs, Natsu lost it again. He was nearly crying he was laughing so hard.

"I can tell your laughing, meanie!" Happy wailed at Natsu. "If you find it so funny, why don't you go look in a mirror, baldie!"

Those words stopped Natsu's laughter, and his arms shot up to grope at his head.

Sure enough, none of his usual pink locks were there – most of it was now melded with Lucy's on a still screaming Gray's head, but there was some growing grossly out of Cenas's horse half – and he now had two small, catlike ears.

Natsu began to wail in despair alongside Happy as he realised that his scarf was now missing as well – it was currently half melded into Vulp's behind, trailing like a makeshift tail from beneath her usual kimono. It did go with the tiny, white wings grafted onto her back from Happy, though, and the spirit barely noticed the loss of her usual tail and ears as she tried her best to fly with the miniature wings to no avail.

In the corner, Loke was crying over his lost good looks as Cenas's horse tail stuck out of the back of his head like a pony tail, and his hands were now hoofs. Why couldn't he get boobs like Gray, the lucky bastard! Instead, he got horse bits and Gray's necklace embedded into his forehead like a headdress. His life was awful!

Sighing at the sight before her, Lucy handed a dumbfounded Levy the sheet that started all of this to decipher, along with an apology for her pride. Then, she awkwardly slid to the ground as her foot had been replaced with one of Cenas's hooves – making the poor spirit have only three legs whose hooves were replaced with two human hands and one human foot!

What was worse, though, was the fact that one of Erza's swords had now replaced her right arm, which was God knows where! It certainly wasn't on one of her friend's body, that was for sure.

"_Bloody budgering fuck," _Lucy swore to herself in English as she took in the chaos that was unfolding, never realising that her missing arm was currently sticking out of her back and twitching, much to her guildmates horror – Romeo had to be ushered out of the room by a concerned Mirajane when the little boy looked like her would vomit.

It was only when Andromeda showed up to help decipher Lucy's mistake along with Levy that the day was saved and everyone was turned back to normal.

Only to suffer a severe scolding from Master _and_ Andromeda in the likes that they had never seen.

Natsu swore that his eardrums were still ringing days later, safely tucked underneath his newly recovered hair – although Gray still swore that he found pink strands in his hair for days after.

* * *

**Tadaa~! Hope you liked this stupid little thing!**


	20. Take down? More like break down

**Fact: breaking your computer and losing a whole bunch of files does **_**not **_**gain you sympathy from your parents, only punishment.**

**Fact: Computers take a **_**long time **_**to fix.**

**Another fact: Parents are bitter, and seem to think that your time without a computer as it is being fixed is not enough and will take it off you.**

**Last fact: SunMoonKunoichi is very sorry for her lack of connection with anyone, as it is hard to do so without a computer. **

**Last last fact: I literally have no idea what to do with most of my stories.**

**Fact: This is called writers block.**

**Fact: I am very, very sorry. Hurting me will do nothing. On the other hand, this nearly has 200 reviews! Yay!**

* * *

**Warning: **_Lots of bloody deaths, some graphic descriptions, mentions of whoring and illegal shit, swearing and…well, a lot of darkness that doesn't really fit with the FT theme. Filler. Fluff. _

**Disclaimer: **_I highly doubt that Lucy in canon!FT is a secret assassin on the side of being a mage._

* * *

**Third Person P.O.V.**

It was just another lazy afternoon after a hard days' work in the guild of Shattered Bones. They had successfully looted a procession of travelling merchants earlier on in the day and the merchandise they had managed to steal was more than enough to tide them over for a few more weeks. It was a cause of celebration.

Merriment, plenty of alcohol and daring tales of what had gone down mere hours earlier were passed around the men inside the dingy barn remodelled into a dark guild's base with a feverish passion.

Laughter rocked the crumbling eaves above the men as they mockingly re-enacted the pleas of countless men, women and children they had harassed and murdered that day. The memories of the pain they had caused fuelled their wild movements, and many more drinks were passed out in swift rounds, all ordered by the content guildmaster in the centre of the room. The one who oozed pleasure from every one of his oily pores and grinned behind greasy drumsticks of cooked meat that he coddled to his overlapping chins.

Yep, that one right there. You can see him, right? Past the hustle and bustle of celebrating scum, and the mess they were causing with greasy foods and oily drinks that poisoned their bodies? The one who sat a rotted bench as if it were a throne, feeling blessed by every god and goddess at the moment?

He's going to die.

Oh, maybe not now, but very, very shortly. And it will be a beautifully ironic death by the calloused hands of one particular blonde-haired assassin.

Before that can happen, though, she's going to have to arrive and kill every other male here.

How about we get started?

* * *

All merriment and movement stopped when the dented doors to the barn were slammed open, letting the gusting wind that had frolicked outside in the sunshine just moments earlier come rushing in.

The howling winds added a sort of cinematic tenseness to the situation that was quickly being established. It played around the dangerously thick heels that peaked out of the long black cloak flapping about what could only be could a super-sexy goddess.

As the men belonging to the dark guild Shattered Bones came to terms with the newcomer in their midst, lecherous grins began to pull up their greasy mouths to reveal crooked teeth and slimy tongues. Because there was a blonde-haired beauty in their midst, and she was stunningly beautiful and seemingly carved from lovely and smooth marble.

Her eyes were hard flints pressed into the stone of her angular face, and her lips were a mocking attempt at soft, supple peach. She stood with confidence and seemingly without a care, back straight and hair swaying in the wind.

She was a goddess, and she was ripe for the taking.

(At least, in the minds of the criminal men pawing at her with their eyes.)

The first to speak was a man quite close to the girl with a rather unfortunate case of acne scars and protruding ears named Ralph. He liked to play the Harmonica, and found stacking rocks into interesting formations fun and innovative. He was also a blathering idiot who didn't know when to keep his mouth shut.

With bravado that would never be commended, and with eyebrows cocked in a way that he believed to be alluring, Ralph began to advance on the goddess in their midst. "Hey there, beautiful. What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"

The man got his answer in the form of two black objects sliding out from the folds of the girls' cloaks long sleeves to drop into her hands in a comfortable and familiar way. Then, in a flash of movement that most of the gathered men nearly missed, the goddess raised her right hand up and shot a bolt of golden light right into Ralph's head.

He was dead before he hit the floor due to his (admittedly small) brain being cooked to the point of literally melting out of his ears, nose and mouth in the form of a sludge that could only very loosely be called pink, and could very much cause some of the men nearby to be sick.

Pandemonium broke out in the toughened criminals' ranks as the avenging goddess walked in with clicking heels to spread blood and boiled brains with every twitch of her weapons.

Some men attempted to crawl out of broken holes in the walls that they counted as windows, or even through warps of the wood. However, each and every one was punctured by a golden bolt of pure magic that had their limbs trembling helplessly, and their organs leaking out through broken and burnt flesh.

The smell was terrible, and some men were sick over their dirty and worn clothes as they attempted to escape this avenging goddess.

But the avenging goddesses eyes were still flint as she shot into their midst, not a single shot wasted. Her beauty was suddenly so terrible that many could not bear to look at her, and some began to cry when her fathomless depths locked onto their terrified eyes.

They were a murderous guild filled with great and horrible mages and…! And…! And—!

And they were mere men, and no one could ever truly be prepared for death to be brought right into their happiness. Many were mages, but the battles they had waged were with magics that weren't truly lethal, and the men and women who had tried to stop them did so without murderous intent. No one could ever truly be prepared for the sight of comrades faces frozen in soundless screams, one eye missing to be replaced with seared flesh and…

They were trying to fight back, they swore! The mages were rallying, firing bursts of their own magic at the murderous goddess in their midst in an attempt to vanquish her from their home base, their fortress of solitude.

Yet, the murderous goddess seemed to possess no bones as her body twisted and contorted in manners that could not possibly be humane. And the men would've thought she was a ghost haunting them and punishing them by the way their physical attacks seemed to slide past her if it weren't for the way her cloak was ripped and torn by their attempts.

She discarded it halfway through her murdering spree, thirty-odd men lying dead around her, and even the curves of her body were dangerous and screamed murder.

Someone had been lucky enough to knock one of the weapons from her hand – and cheers were crawling up of the survivors throats and hope was pushing their limbs onwards to victory – but the murderous goddess merely smoothly drew another from a strap from her back between the motion of ducking a flying tackle and pivoting to avoid a blast of flames.

Two shots were fired off by the time she stood back up, and both of her most recent attackers were dead with smoke curling from their heads and groins respectively – because she was feeling particularly vicious at the nearness of the flames, and this was no place for half-remembered flashbacks and fears never quite put to rest.

Suddenly, there was a snarling man in her face, and he was grappling at her hands, trying his best to grab her weapons from her. He was going very well, too, as his massive girth and rippling muscles were ten times stronger than her willowy limbs.

With a grunt, the man-with-the-muscles managed to wrench the weapons from the murderous goddesses' hands, tugging off the straps that connected them with her magic. He tossed them aside carelessly to be stomped on by vicious survivors, and turned with a wicked grin to the defenceless goddess whose flint eyes were sparking in anger.

Fury lit up her face in glowering arcs of fire, and her pearly white teeth peeked out from behind twisted lips. It was the first emotion the collected guild had seen on her face, and the man-with-the-muscles couldn't help but grin broadly because _he_ was the one to take the power from this goddess and make her defenceless.

"Looks like I've caught myself a pretty little birdie," he rumbled out in deep baritones, bushy brow quirked in a mocking way. His fingers tightened around her wrists as he lifted her up above his head, the tips of her boots barely brushing the filthy floor as she hung limply. "Now what to do with her?"

There were a few calls begging for him to clip her wings and other such nonsense, but those boisterous shouts quickly turned to ones of shock and surprise as the defenceless goddess became the ridiculously flexible one.

Swinging back with absolutely no warning, the ridiculously flexible goddess launched her lower-half forwards and up. Lithe legs wrapped around a meaty neck, and the man-with-the-muscles gave one surprised gurgle and a half-hearted claw at the legs before they twisted and snapped his neck.

The girl spoke for the first time in the guilds memory, and even her voice was sweet and terrible as she landed with a crouch by the dead-man-with-the-muscles. "My name is not birdie, it's Lucy; not like you'll remember it in this life."

Far above the scene of death below, perched on one of the more solid eaves, Loke let out a low whistle of surprise as he watched his summoner quickly turn a situation dangerous to her health right back onto those that had temporarily threatened her. And he'd thought that she might've needed help on this mission; how wrong was he?

With barely a cursory glance back at the slumped body of the dead-man-with-the-muscles, Lucy straightened up from her crouch, flinty eyes sparking in anger. She completely ignored the guns slung at her hips, or even the spare on her back. Instead, she slowly and almost sensually drew two knives from her boots, the long lengths of steel gleaming in the air filtering from the cracks in the building.

The appearance of the decidedly mundane and almost weak weapons should've been a cause of hope of victory in the surviving men. But the way that she held them, with experience and familiarity even stronger than the ones seen with the guns, the men weren't going to press their luck any more.

The men that were left over – only a rough twenty or so – were much more wary than their ex-guildmates, and maybe a few brain cells smarter. Those brain cells and instincts were the cause of their survival so far, though, and it would make them much more of a challenge to Lucy.

But she knew that already, of course.

Joints creaked with clenched hands, and teeth grated in the stressful silence that broke out between the girl and her enemies. While Lucy stood there, arms by her side, waiting for the first attacker, the men that surrounded her in a loose circle shifted and wavered like leaves in the wind. They weren't too sure where to go from here, but they knew it was fight or die.

(A bit of a morose view on the situation, but at least they were speaking the truth to themselves.)

It was the hitch of one of the men's breathing that signalled the start of the second round. With a great bellow he went charging forwards, drawing on his magic to pool inky shadows around his hand before he tossed the appendage at Lucy's face.

It only took at twist of her body to dodge the clumsy attack, but Lucy's face was all serious as she swivelled to face her attacker. She took in the magic swirling around his hands, and bared her teeth in a savage grin. "I've versed a shadow-user before, not too long ago."

"Oh yeah?" the man replied, unsure of where this was going. "And how'd that work out for ya?"

"Not too good," Lucy replied easily, more than forthcoming with her beating at the hand of Kageyama. "But here's behind bars now, and the one time I visited him he cried like a girl in repentance, so I'd say that the end result was a victory in my favour, no?"

All she got was a scoff in answer and a bunch of shadows thrown her way. However, shadows weren't exactly a great match against light magic, the man quickly found out, as his attack was blasted away by a brilliant beam of light originating from above his head.

The shadow-user only managed to catch a glimpse of polished shoes and flapping tailcoats before Loke slammed his boots into face. The force from Loke's great drop from the ceiling resulted in the guy being knocked out instantly and caving into the ground with a horrendous thud as Loke used him as a landing pad to cushion his fall.

The man was dead before Loke carefully stepped off of him, a bleeding and swollen brain the cause of his rather anticlimactic death.

The spirit grimaced at the sight of blood leaking from several of the man's orifices, and the unclean feeling he got from knowing that a human beings life was now tainting his hands. However, he pushed those feelings aside for the time being; he could deal with such things later, because right now his summoner was in the middle of a battle and needed some help – even if she didn't want to admit it.

"Fancy a partner in this dance?" Loke asked Lucy casual as he began to roll the sleeves of his suit up, slender fingers twisting the fabric with ease. "I know you're usual one for solos, but I think you could use a little help in this moment."

A raised eyebrow was all he got from Lucy as she sent him a searching glance, but the slight nod and twitch of her lips let him know that she was perfectly fine with the situation.

As the duo turned to face the men surrounding them, Lucy hefting her knives in her hand and Loke merely lighting his clenched fists with his magic, several men nearly whimpered in fear. First a hot chick who turns out to be a stone cold murderer, and now this?

Several of the men were wishing they had stayed home that day like some of the other men had elected to do, but, of course, they didn't know that Lucy had already visited their houses and disposed of them in ways that showcased their ties to the illegal guild, but also covered her tracks.

She had a lot of practise in hiding her tracks, Loke had deduced as he waited for her outside each building, never hearing a single peep from the unfortunate men.

"Let's get this show on the road," Lucy muttered to Loke, breaking him from his thoughts right before the two sprang into action.

Almost instantly rounds of magic were being thrown around the room, everyone loosing themselves in the desperation of the moment. Shouts and screams broke through the loud bangs of exploding spells in random patterns, making many ears ring and some men cower beneath tables and chairs that hadn't been destroyed yet by some miracle.

In the middle of all of this, Lucy waded through dead bodies, body twisting and flipping to dodge the worst of the attacks. Every now and again she'd be knocked back by an unexpected physical assault from a member of the guild, soft grunts escaping her lips as she tried to orientate herself around thrown fists and swinging legs. She always managed to salvage herself, though, and turn her deadly knives onto her attacker in sprays of blood and flashes of steel.

Blood soaked the ground wherever she walked, and even the clothes she wore began to drip as she unflinchingly slit men's throats and wrists, or battered at them with bruising knuckles and dented boots.

It seemed like years that she continued like this, only catching glimpses of Loke as he knocked a guy out and tossed them her way to dispose of. Lucy respected his wishes to not bloody his hands at all, and took care of each and every man without a sound.

Because she knew that if she opened her mouth to speak, or to even try and form any sort of sound, a scream might claw its way up her throat and throw itself out into the air. Although her face was stone and her eyes were flint, her heart was still soft and bleeding as every man she cut down carved a piece of it out.

Killing was something she hated to do, but she understood that at times it was necessary. So she donned a mask set in stone, and did her job, because not many other people would, and she didn't like the thought of these men running rampart and killing innocents like they apparently had earlier on today.

So she kept her mouth shut and mask firmly on as she gutted the last of the men, holding back a shudder as her warm and wet entrails spilled onto her hands. If she didn't help to make Fiore a safer place, who would? Fairy Tail may defeat the bad guys and help save countless people, but how many times had their enemies merely escaped and come back for more? Too many, that's what, and Lucy was determined to stop it.

For the sake of her nakama and the soul she had unwillingly shoved from this body.

In the end, it was just her, Loke, dozens of dead bodies, and a trembling guildmaster trying to hide behind the unkempt bar, jowls wobbling as he sobbed.

This man was the vilest of the lot. Lucy had heard of him in her travels, of how he controlled several trafficking networks and smuggling affairs under different aliases. His work was well known in the underworld, and many were curious as just who the mastermind was behind all of the big heists and sales; Lucy included.

For many months she had searched for him on the side of her usual training and travelling, but she had only found dead ends and the occasional collapsing smuggling ring. She had cleaned up his messes as she hadn't known really what else to do, helping whores and prisoners find new homes and occupations so they could start new lives. The Magic Council had helped her keep tabs on each of the people she had saved, and she often kept in contact with some of them, both as an acquaintances and as a source of intel.

Until last night, when she'd received this mission, Lucy hadn't realised that they'd found the man behind all of the masks and murder.

"Rhondel Umaten," Lucy said simply as she skirted around the bar to peer down at the crouched form of the man, bloody knives in her hand and a serious Loke at her back. "I've been looking for you for a long time, you know?"

"I-I'm sorry," blubbered the man, thick lips wobbling with the motion. "I'll give you anything you want, just let me go!"

Unimpressed, Lucy continued to stare down the man. "That's what they all say. And do you want to know what I say in return?"

Lucy's impassive face swum in the reflection of Rhondel's muddy brown eyes as he shakenly asked why. He knew he wouldn't like the answer, he knew that he would be dead in a matter of seconds, having no magic to call his own nor any more men to protect him, but he'd like _something_ before he left this world.

"You should've thought of that before you fucking killed innocents, asshole!" The sudden burst of emotion was all the warning Rhondel got before Lucy plunged her knives down to cleave his shaven head into two.

The blood sprayed from the cracked skull to splatter against Lucy's face, creating a dot-to-dot of murder on the blank canvas of her skin. Dazedly, the blonde removed her hands from the hilt of the knife captured by Rhondel's skull to swipe at her face, smearing the blood even more.

Behind her, Loke watched worriedly as his summoner heaved out a sigh and stared at the corpse in front of her. Just as he was about to speak up, she pivoted and marched past him, face set back into stone. "Our work is done here. I'll contact the Council to clean this up and to report the mission was accomplished. You can go, Loke, thank you for your help."

As much as Loke wanted to protest and demand to stay back, he was still weak from his many years of being in Earthland's poisonous air, and he knew that if he pushed at Lucy she may crumble into dust. He was also decidedly freaked out by the events that had transpired today, and wanted some time to mull over it all. So he merely nodded and said a quiet goodbye before disappearing off into the Spirit World, leaving Lucy behind with a bunch of dead bodies and their ghosts.

Sighing softly to herself, ignoring the way it sounded a bit like a sob at the end, Lucy began to potter around the decimated guild, gathering up the guns that were unbroken and the bloody knives she had tossed into people's bodies with a fleshy thud – one was stuck particularly deep into a man's chest cavity, and proved to be quite an awkward struggle to get out, Lucy offering her apologies to the body all the while.

When her presence had been cleansed from the room, Lucy made a second circuit of the room, fixing up the bodies so that they were at least a little bit comfortable. It was a ritual she always did after killing someone; blessing them as she crossed her heart, closing their eyes and laying them down into a comfortable position. Really, it was the least she could do for the men whose life had been stolen by her.

When that was all done and dusted, Lucy gathered up her bloody weapons in her ragged cloak to be cleaned later on, calmly walked outside to collect her bag from its hiding stash from a nearby tree, then wandered off to the nearest river to wash her weapons and cry her eyes out.

It was a process that would take a few hours, but that just meant that Lucy would be on schedule for the next part of her stressful day.

* * *

Juvia was sure that she was going to die.

Not only had Juvia's vacation to Akane Resort with her Gray-sama – cue swoon – had been interrupted, but Juvia had been tied up by a kitty-cosplayer with some magic-nullifying ropes, as well as having to sneak into some creepy tower and fight her way alongside Natsu-san, Happy-san and Gray-sama to try and find Erza-san!

Now, here Juvia was, separated from the rest of her group and forced to fight some sort of maniac with his guitar and creepy hair! Juvia was sure that she was going to die as the man had promised to make her his hell girl, as Juvia was no hell girl; Juvia was going to be removed, and if Juvia was removed, then there would be no more Juvia. Juvia would be sure as dead.

Juvia didn't want to die.

But Juvia swore that she would go out fighting, so Juvia had continued to throw any attack Juvia knew at the horrible man, blasting him with large bursts of water in the shape of whips and canes.

It was to no avail; the horrible man would merely suck all of Juvia's water up with his creepy hair, rendering Juvia useless.

There was nothing Juvia could do as she stared in horror at the horrible man who was advancing on Juvia, guitar at the ready and hair swinging wildly behind him. The horrible man cackled about dragging Juvia down to hell, fingers twitching to strum his guitar, moving in tempo with his madly swirling eyes.

Just as the horrible man was about to strum his guitar and make Juvia his hell girl, a great flashing light burst into being behind him, casting shadows onto his horrible face. Before he could turn and see the source of the light, a hand was swinging from the centre of the light, dragging a sword through the air behind it.

Juvia could only watch in shock and horror as the horrible man's head was cleaved neatly from his neck, the creepily moving hair stilling its movement for the first time as it was cut in half by the swing.

As the horrible man's body slumped to the ground with the eerie sound of wet leather sliding over concrete, Juvia got to see just who her saviour was. Her first thought was, quite obviously, _Erza-san?_

But no, it wasn't Erza-san. Instead, Juvia could only stare in shock at the person who was quite clearly Lucy-san, sword still poised in the air, blood dripping steadily off the blade to stain the puddles of water on the floor of the chamber they were in.

The blonde's eyes were dark as she looked at Juvia from beneath bloody eyelashes, her entire body softly coated in the bright substance. Her serious expression matched perfectly with the woman – _Andromeda-san_ Juvia's mind helpfully suggested, having remember the description of the spirit from several of Natsu-san's and Gray-sama's stories – standing behind her, shackled hands perched on Lucy-san's tense shoulders in a distinctively protective manner.

Movement from Lucy-san drew Juvia's gaze away from the sadness held in Andromeda-san's deep blue depths and back to the blonde just in time to see the girl raise a bloody finger to her lips; she was shushing Juvia.

Before Juvia could ask for clarity, both Lucy-san and Andromeda-san disappeared in another golden flash, making Juvia's eyes water from the sight.

The silence in the chamber after Lucy-san's departure didn't match very well with the jumbled mess of thoughts trying to make themselves heard in Juvia's head. Juvia clutched at her head, trying to figure out just what to do.

But Juvia already knew what to do, and looking at the neatly severed head who was lolling its tongue at her and rolling its eyes, Juvia knew that she had to keep Juvia's mouth shut about Lucy-san's actions.

Just because Juvia was a Fairy Tail mage didn't mean that Juvia hadn't been a Phantom Lord mage; she knew about death and secrets. It was a game that Juvia was slightly good at, and could play tentatively.

Juvia also knew that Juvia knew nothing about death and secrets quite like Lucy-san did.

* * *

High up above the drama that had just transpired in a watery chamber, perched on a stone chair, Jellal attempted to choose what to feel about the sudden appearance of what he thought to be a disposed player and the permanent loss of one of his own pawns.

"Interesting," the man mumbled to himself as he picked up the golden key perched off to the side of his personalised chess board, having been discarded there when he believed that Fate's Fortunate was completely dealt with.

Rolling around the piece in his hands, Jellal let a smirk curl up his lips as he placed a quick kiss to the cool metal before placing back to the side where it belonged; in the shadows, never truly on anyone's chess board but their own. "Very interesting indeed, Celestial Maiden."

His laugh echoed hollowly throughout his tower as he picked up the guitar piece and crushed it in his hands, delighting in its destruction.

All the while, the golden key glinted softly in the shadows cast by the man, absolutely innocent looking.

* * *

The Magic Council was in a state of absolute crisis.

Not only had their headquarters been destroyed by that traitor Ultear, but it had turned out that Siegrain was also playing them to be the fool, having been in league with Ultear the entire time.

Most of the council was lucky enough to get out alive, and all they wanted right now was to hear some good news as they stood on the soft grass in front of what used to be their headquarters.

Almost on cue, a flash of light signalled the materialization of Lucy and her spirit Andromeda to the scene of destruction.

The blonde, clad in her usual battle gear with her bag slung over her shoulder, having destroyed her ruined and soiled assassination gear moments prior, didn't react much to the sight of the Magic Council's headquarters in the form of ruined rubble. Aside from the slight widening of her eyes, and the faint tremble of her lips, many of the Council would've believed that she had already known of the building's destruction.

Many still didn't believe that she hadn't known of the destruction wrought in front of them, and made their voices heard quite clearly.

"Where the hell have you been?" Michello demanded hotly, feline ears pricked up in rage. "Ultear just finished demolishing our headquarters and then you decide to show up! I thought you were hunting Ultear, so how is it that she managed to conveniently slip past you to attack us?"

With furrowed brows, Lucy dismissed Andromeda with a nod before turning to the enraged councilmember. "Michello-sama, I'm afraid that I don't quite understand your accusations. While I was indeed tasked with Ultear's capture, I thought that you understood that I first had to deal with the Phantom Lord incident and just then the demolition of the dark guild Shattered Bones. I do not wish to sound rude, but how was I able to go cross-country hunting for a highly-elusive woman while I was dealing with such fiascos?"

Several councilmembers spluttered at her words, making the girl tilt her head in confusion. "…I'm getting the feeling that something's very wrong here."

"Very wrong?" councilman Yuri bellowed out, showering specks of spittle across Lucy's face – who discreetly wiped it off with her sleeves, much to Yajima's amusement. "That's an understatement! There was no order for you to kill off the dark guild Shattered Bones; stop your excuses, child."

Ignoring the derogatory manner in which Yuri addressed her, Lucy's eyes flickered dangerously as she began to connect the dots. "…Siegrain. No, Jellal."

At hearing the name of the traitor, several scowls were shared amongst the group of mages gathered. Lucy kept her face blank as she studied their whispered conversations and arguments, paying special attention to Crawford – and the pleased glint that glimmered deep in his eyes depths.

"Heartifilia-san, can you tell us why you think that Siegrain was the cause of your…absence?" Belno asked, diverting Lucy's attention her and her wizened face crinkled in barely contained worry.

"Firstly," Lucy said shortly, not in the mood for niceties, "tell me why Shattered Bones was not dealt with earlier? I observed for merely a _day _and they were massacring innocent people left, right and centre!" Lucy's body shook with barely restrained rage, her eyes flashing with the heat of it. "How could you not have ordered me or, hell, even _one _of your legions to go and deal with them earlier?"

Yajima at least had the decency to look ashamed as he answered Lucy's heated questions. "Although we knew of Shattered Bones's existence, we did not wish to do anything with them yet as we were gaining information from them via a spy we had inserted into their guild. He was gaining information from Rhondel himself, and such information was incredibly valuable."

"More valuable than the lives of countless men and women?" Lucy asked, not bothering to conceal her disgust at the Magic Council's actions; who knew how ruthless they were? The series had never revealed just how far they were willing to go for their version of 'good.' "How many died in your quest for knowledge?"

"How many men just died by your hands?" Michello shot back, taking vindictive pleasure in the way Lucy flinched and shuddered, like she could still feel blood trickling down her back like sweat.

The countless deaths she had caused were still clamouring to be known at the back of her mind, and now they were fuelled by the fact that she had just killed an innocent man; maybe one of her colleagues from her countless missions with the Royal Army.

Bile rose in Lucy's throat, but she managed to swallow it down in order to press her points to the collected councilmembers. "Regardless of whatever information you gained from Rhondel, I hope your happy with yourselves now; your ignorance and arrogance has resulted in your fall, and you have not only killed off dozens of innocents, but also put my closest nakama in danger. They were stuck in the Tower of Heaven when you fired that bloody weapon; if they are injured, so help me…"

"Heartifilia," Yuri barked out, "enough of this insolence! Your murderous spree has resulted in the loss of our operative's life and the information he had gained. You are to stand down now and hand yourself into the Magic Council's custody!"

A sour look crossed Lucy's as she reached into the folds of her cloak to withdraw a stack of papers neatly bound together. She tossed the paper at Crawford's feet, murder in her eyes and in her steps as she turned and stalked away. But not before she called over her shoulder to the shocked Magic Council, as she withdrew Andromeda's key to unlock her gate.

"You're lucky I took the liberty of collecting all of Rhondel's paperwork before I came here to save your sorry asses; take it as my last job for you, and as repentance for the loss of one of your men. I quit – not like there is any Magic Council I can quit from, let alone be taken into improper custody of."

Her laugh echoed in the ex-Magic Councilmembers ears as she disappeared in a flash of golden light, free of her ties to them.

Crawford watched her go with a shadow across his face and regret in his heart; Tartarus could've used a mage of her calibre.

* * *

Exhaustion pulled at Lucy's eyes and limbs as she silently crept through the shadowed streets of the town Andromeda had kindly dropped her off at before asking not to be called anymore that day; she had her own business to attend to in the Spirit World and would not be available for some time.

This mission wasn't one of dire importance, as Makarov had said he could do it, but Lucy just wanted all of the backstory bullshit done before she could start the next arc of the story. So she was making this short side trip along the way before she could finally rest.

Oh gods, Lucy nearly drooled at the thought of her nice soft bed, and laying herself down on it beside Ryos to sleep for days on end. It had been well over an entire day since she'd been in Magnolia, let alone had a night's sleep, and she was at her breaking point. Especially with all of the voices shouting in the back of her mind, demanding that she feel the full guilt of her actions at the guild hours prior.

Hard to think it had only been a few hours since she massacred an entire guild of men. Lucy managed a dry laugh as she skittered down a side alley, slowly loosing herself in the maze of back alleys and streets; just like back in her old world.

It was only the faint tickle of magic at the edges of her senses that guided Lucy correctly through the streets lit by the setting sun. Although she had only been in its presence for a total of an hour or two, Lucy could easily distinguish the unique magic from the mass of Etherno that naturally formed in the air.

Of course, that could only be because she almost _lived _with two dragon slayers, and she now had a good grasp of their odd flavour of magic.

The pulse of magic was getting closer, and Lucy was getting more and more cautious. Her footsteps dramatically slowed as she approached the entrance of a significantly wider alleyway, her boots barely making a sound as she edged into the light of a flickering lamppost.

Apparently that was more than enough to gain the attention of the person she had been hunting for the past hour, their hunched form straightening slightly as it foraged through the mound of trash by its feet.

"My, my," the shadowed figure grated out as it picked up a crooked bar of rusted metal, running long fingers over the cool object. "What do I owe the pleasure of having _the _Celestial Maiden in _my _presence once more?"

Lucy could make out the shape of lips twisting up into a wicked grin right before they latched onto the metal bar, chewing roughly on the end with a sickening round of crunches. Her face remained unimpressed and stoic, however, as she stalked closer, not bothering to hide her presence anymore. "You owe me."

"Owe you what?" Gajeel cackled at her, taking great joy to examine her exhausted face – was that blood he could spot, speckled across her nose like a splash of freckles? – when he spun around to face her.

Unamused, Lucy paused a few metres from the dragon slayer to cross her arms across her hidden bust. Her bag swung softly on her shoulder, the guns hidden in it clinking softly. "Your life. What did you think I was talking about?"

His grin turning into a grimace, Gajeel turned his full attention onto the girl. The bar swung absently in his left hand, a subtle threat that barely fazed Lucy. His other hand scrubbed at his stubbly chin thoughtfully, a mocking gesture if there ever was one. "I owe you my life, huh? Nope, don't remember that conversation."

Suddenly, there was a sword at his neck, its edge pressing lightly against his Adam's apple in warning. "Maybe this will jog your memory," Lucy said shortly, a small measure of amusement laced neatly through her voice.

Unwillingly, a smirk crept across Gajeel's face as he held his hands up in mock-surrender. "I think I'm remembering something now, princess. Mostly you stabbing me in the back."

"Oh yeah," Lucy replied smoothly, hands barely wavering, "how's that going for you?"

"Painfully."

"I'd imagine."

"What're you here for, Maiden?"

"An offer."

"For me? You shouldn't have."

"Oh, I insist. And so does Master Makarov and the Magic Council. Especially that chick – what was her name again? Ah, of course: Belno-san."

At the mention of the only human being who had shown him compassion, Gajeel's entire body froze. His dark eyes bore into Lucy's, whose brow was cocked in unspoken challenge. _Well?_

Gajeel's eyes narrowed, and his unnaturally sharp canines poked over his bottom lip threateningly. "What's the offer already?"

The sword was retracted from his throat, and Lucy barely spared Gajeel a glance as sheathed it back in its usual place on her back. "You join Fairy Tail."

"…You've got to be kidding me."

"No, not at all," Lucy answered easily as she returned her attention back to Gajeel – oh how she enjoyed the emotions that chased each other around his face. "It's either that or jail for a whole bunch of years for beating up my guildmates, me, and destroying numerous property. Not even Belno-san can help you out there."

As if sensing the double-meaning to her words, Gajeel cocked his head to the side and peered at Lucy. "What'cha do now, princess?"

"You'll see what's happened soon enough. Earlier if you join Fairy Tail." Lucy watched as several emotions flicked across Gajeel's face – _hope, fear, anger_ – before adding an extra titbit of information. "Juvia's already there if you're worried about friends."

A flash of relief crossed Gajeel's face before he covered up with his usual scowl. "I ain't worried about having no friends – I'm used to that crap. I'm more worried 'bout the fact that I beat the shit out of you and your little, pesky friends, and then demolished your guild."

"Buildings can be rebuilt, broken bones and skin can mend," Lucy said flippantly. "I already know my wounds have healed, alongside Levy-chan, Jet and Droy's; the three _'little, pesky friends' _you were talking about."

Almost unnoticeably, Gajeel's eyes slid towards Lucy's face, taking note of her slightly crooked nose. They flicked away almost instantly, but not fast enough for Lucy not to see the guilt hidden in them.

A large part of Lucy softened at the vulnerable look in the normally gruff man's eyes. She was tired of games and masks; it was time for the real stuff.

"Hey," she said softly, stepping forwards to place a small hand on Gajeel's bare arm above his gloves. "It's all right. I'm alright. There's no hard feelings. I completely understand."

Stiffening at the sudden contact of warm and calloused hands touching his skin, and the close proximity of the opposite sex – she smelt like blood, iron and starlight; an odd combination to say the least – Gajeel jerked his arm roughly away from Lucy's grip, his defences slamming back down. "What'd you know, princess?"

"Contrary to many people's belief," Lucy said simply, not at all hurt by Gajeel's hasty retreat, "I have seen the wilder side of life. You actually wouldn't believe some of the things I've seen."

"Try me," Gajeel grunted out, words as sharp as the metals he loved to chew on.

Briefly, an amused spark bloomed into life in Lucy's dark eyes. "Ever seen a man shit himself after having his head chopped off? People's muscles completely relax after their killed, and apparently this man had been holding it in when I reached him."

A raspy chuckle escaped Gajeel's lips at her comment, and Lucy couldn't help but blush and look down at her feet in pleasure – making one of the most stoic characters of the show laugh? That was a massive accomplishment in her eyes.

Lucy let out a surprised gasp when a large gloved hand was slammed down on her head. She blushed all the way to the tips of her ears as Gajeel's unique laughter reached her ears, his hand busy ruffling her ponytail into a spiky mess. "You're not too bad, brat."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Lucy mumbled as she ducked away from Gajeel, embarrassment colouring her face a soft red in the sun's dying light. She was quick to compose herself, however, and quickly offered her hand up to Gajeel to distract him. "Do we have a deal?"

Swallowing his laughter, Gajeel stared seriously at the tiny appendage offered to him. The pros and cons flashed through his mind, and obviously he came to a rather quick decision as he nodded sharply to himself before taking Lucy's hand.

His own gloved hands swallowed her petite ones up easily, and Gajeel was careful to not break any bones as he pumped her arm up and down to seal the deal. "I'm in."

A genuine smile crossed Lucy's face as she disengaged from the handshake, her cheeks now pink from happiness. "Excellent! I expect to see you at the guild by tomorrow!"

When she turned to walk away without waiting for an answer, Gajeel was quick to snap an arm out to grab her shoulder and stop her. "Oi, oi. Where do you think you're going? It's just about night and I know Magnolia's a good four hours or more walk away; it'll be midnight by the time you reach there!"

"Who says I'm walking?' Lucy asked slyly, her smile still set in place.

"With that leg?" Gajeel asked, gesturing towards her left leg hidden beneath a spare cloak she had tossed on. "I highly doubt you're running."

Smile dropping from her face, Lucy shook off Gajeel's hand and drew herself further into the folds of her cloak. She had honestly thought that no one would notice the slight drag of her leg, the limb having been struck earlier on in the day by a hail of wood shrapnel from a rather pissed off Wood mage in Shattered Bones. Loke hadn't noticed, and neither had the Magic Council – although that may have been because they were too furious to notice much really – so Lucy must've been a bit lax in hiding her injuries from overconfidence.

Or, you know, Gajeel's hyper senses could've easily picked up the way she leant heavier on the other leg amongst other small signs.

"And?" Lucy asked a little hostilely now, drawing her cloak as tightly as possible across her chest. "What is it to you?"

Gajeel ran agitated fingers through his long hair, averting his eyes from the small girl in front of him. "Nothing. Just what the hell are you thinking you're going to do?"

Casting a quick glance at Gajeel's hastily schooled expression, Lucy chewed at her bottom lip in deliberation. "…Honestly, I was planning on just taking a nap in a tree and heading off in the morning."

"No cash?"

"No cash."

An awkward silence formed in the twilight air between them, both avoiding each other's gaze. Just as Lucy was going to simply take off, Gajeel gave a sharp jerk of his head and turned on his heel to stalk off in the opposite direction of the exit to his scrapheap.

Staring after him, Lucy raised her arms helplessly, bag making more clinking sounds. "…What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Pausing, Gajeel shot her a flat look over his shoulder. "C'mon, idiot. I'm offering you shelter for the night. It's not much, but I've set up in an abandoned warehouse nearby; the roof's not too holey and I've got a fire pit."

Considering it for a moment, still slightly unsure about the man in front of her – the one who had beaten the crap out of her not so long ago – Lucy looked Gajeel up and done. Apparently she found what she was looking for, as she gave him a brittle smile and a nod. "I've slept in worse. Okay, Redfox, I'm game."

* * *

The moon was well into the depths of the sky by the time Lucy finally sat down and just…_relaxed_.

Well, relaxed as much as she could in an abandoned warehouse with only the company of a boy who had tried to kill her recently. It wasn't that she didn't trust Gajeel – Lucy had seen how amazing Gajeel had become in their care of Fairy Tail, and his kindness had shone through the more he was with them – but her own paranoia kept her on her toes.

But Lucy wanted to show Gajeel that she trusted him with her life. So she sat down with her back to him, dangling her legs out of a glassless window on the second storey.

Her back tingled with the warmth of the fire Gajeel had set up behind her, the sensation rather pleasant. Her body felt slightly better after she had eaten some stew offered by Gajeel and bandaged her wounds again. While she may have usually got Lyra to help her with her wounds, Lucy just couldn't deal with her beloved spirit's mothering and questioning at the time being. Instead, she had summoned Crux to help her, the spirit's nimble fingers and quiet personality a welcome relief.

Of course, Gajeel had mocked her for getting help from a weirdo, flying thing, but Lucy had ignored him for the most part. Just because they were going to be guildmates didn't mean they were friends.

Holding back a shiver, Lucy drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her cloak around herself. Tiredness was dragging her eyes down and making her vision blur, but the blonde didn't want to fall asleep; then the nightmares would come, and Lucy was sure that there would be a whole flood of new faces and images to haunt her dreams.

"Go to sleep already. Princesses like you need your beauty sleep, right?" Gajeel's voice was gruff as he poked at the fire he had built up with a spare stick. The blonde's stiff presence at the corner of his vision, bathed in a waning moon's light creeped him out slightly. After settling herself down at her current post, she hadn't made a move to sleep, and that had irritated him; he wasn't going to sleep if she wasn't.

To her credit, Lucy didn't sound irritated at all when she replied with a short, "Can't."

"Why the hell not?"

"…Then I'll have to remember, and I'm not ready yet."

The tired and broken tremor that Lucy's voice held piqued Gajeel's attention, and he tilted his head towards her curiously. The thought had been nagging at him since he'd seen the girl and her haggard appearance, and he just needed to know. "Assassination mission?"

The dragon slayer had his fair share of assassination missions under his belt, his ex-Master being less than within the legal guild perimeters. Gajeel's ruthless attitude and superior skills had always meant that there were often requests for his skills when it came to killing off a few people here and there, and Jose had been more than happy to offer out his pet dragon's skills. Gajeel could've declined them, but his pride and the prospect of being paid well had won over his admittedly small amount of morals. So he knew the expression of someone who had just killed people quite well, and Lucy had the devastated look plastered all over her face.

A dry laugh erupted from Lucy's throat as she peered out into the night, the sound holding no humour. "Assassination mission? Hardly. More like a massacre."

Gajeel snorted. "That bad, huh?"

A brittle smile curled the ends of Lucy's lips. "I would normally say 'you have no idea,' but considering who I'm talking to, that'd be a stupid comment."

"Pretty much," Gajeel agreed, lifting up his stick to watch the tip burn. "So, how many was it?"

At this, Lucy's face fell flat once more, her eyes darkening. "…Well over thirty."

Gajeel choked and fumbled his stick. "T-Thirty? You gotta be pulling my leg!" Turning around, he glared over at Lucy's tense back. "How much backup did you have?"

"Only my spirit Leo, and even then he only joined halfway through to knock some men out. I killed them all…every single one of them." There was a hitch in Lucy's voice that Gajeel dutifully ignored, the slayer finally realising just how much crap the girl had gone through the entire day.

"…Sucks to be you," Gajeel finally said.

The anticlimactic comment cracked something in Lucy and she couldn't help but burst out in laughter. It was strained and Gajeel was sure he could hear some sobs mixed into it, but he couldn't help but chuckle alongside her, seeing the humour in the horrid situation.

Their laughter petered out after a few moments, and the only sound that was left was the crackle of the fire.

Even with his hyper senses, Gajeel almost didn't catch the soft words that barely slipped out from between Lucy's lips. "…Thanks, for everything."

Leaning back on his hands, stick discarded in the fire, Gajeel managed a smile. "Don't mention it, princess. Now hurry up and sleep, I don't want to hear you whining when we head to your dumb home town tomorrow."

* * *

Making sure that everything was in its place in her bag, Lucy stood up and slung it over her shoulder. The blonde wobbled slightly as the compartment she had been in for the past hour rocked underneath her feet, but quickly gained her balance.

Tucking a strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear, Lucy knelt down to nudge at her companions' slumped form in the seat opposite her. "Hey, time to wake up, sleepyhead. We're here."

With a snort, Gajeel woke up from his nap, his right eye creaking open to glare at Lucy. "Fucking finally. I thought you said this was a short train ride." The dragon slayer quickly uncrossed his arms and stood up, snagging his beat up rucksack containing his belongings from the seat beside him.

"An hour's pretty damn short," Lucy said over her shoulder as she opened the compartment door and stepped out in the carriage walkway. "Didn't get any motion sickness, did you?"

With a roll of his eyes, Gajeel followed the girl out to stand by the exit doors. "And why the hell would I?"

Lucy giggled slightly into her hands, the bags under her eyes seeming to disappear in her happiness. "Aw, no reason at all." The blonde laughed again like she knew something that Gajeel didn't.

"Shut it, Maiden," Gajeel said grumpily, watching the landscape outside the window begin to change from country to the quaint buildings typical to Magnolia.

The two stood in comfortable silence for a while, content to listen to their own thoughts as they waited for the train to enter the station. When it finally did, they were the first two to jump off.

Almost instantly, Gajeel nearly lost Lucy in the flocks of people bustling about the station. It was only the flash of golden hair he managed to spot just behind a swiftly moving family that notified him of her position.

Grumbling to himself, the dragon slayer picked up the pace and shoved his way through the crowd to make his way back to Lucy's side. "Why do you have to be so short?" he complained to the blonde grouchily when he fell into step beside her. "It's so damn hard to spot you."

"Do you want to hold hands to make sure you don't get lost?" Lucy asked sarcastically, eyes too busy scanning the crowd for gaps to squeeze through to look up at Gajeel. "Maybe I should get you one of those little kiddies' backpacks with the leash attached to it so I can walk you while I'm at it. The leash would be especially useful as it would mean I can tug you away from attacking other small humans."

"Fuck you," Gajeel snapped back, eyes narrowed in anger. "It's your own damn fault that you're so short."

"Could be shorter," Lucy said back pointedly as she made her way towards the exit that would let them out into Magnolia's streets. "And it's everyone else's faults for not getting out of my way."

Watching with a deadpan expression as the girl shuffled past a bunch of gossiping tourists with a bunch of apologies, Gajeel grumbled to himself once more before deciding to rectify the situation.

"We'll be here all damn day long," he said lowly as he snagged Lucy around the waist and tossed her, shrieking in surprise, up into the air. Easily catching the surprisingly light girl on one of his shoulders, Gajeel held her in place with one hand as the other shoved people out of the way.

"What the hell, Gajeel?" Lucy asked shrilly, legs kicking as she struggled to get off of her perch. "What are you doing?"

"Making us move quicker," Gajeel said in reply as he marched towards the exit. "Now stop squirming or I'll drop you on your head."

Wisely, Lucy stopped moving, a blush firmly in place across her cheeks. It wasn't that she didn't understand the logic of using Gajeel's intimidating face and physique to push their way through the crowd, it was just…How long had it been since she'd been picked up and carried around?

Natsu's stupid habit of hoisting her into a fireman carry so he could throw her in a fight didn't count, and neither did Elfman's rather endearing motion of picking her up to rock her in his arms whenever she was sad. This was an entirely different ballgame.

Not only did she barely know Gajeel, but this was such a casual – _brotherly_ – form of contact that Lucy couldn't help but be flustered. She kept quiet until they were out of the station and the crowds, only murmuring a quick thank you as she slid off his shoulder.

Without another word, Lucy began walking down the street, prompting Gajeel to follow lest he get left behind. "What's the rush, short stack?"

"I have something that requires my attention before I return to the guild," Lucy said. "You can head on ahead to the guild by yourself; just ask for Makarov and you'll be fine. If anyone tries to attack you, just say that Lucy sent you. If they don't believe you, tell them that I've threatened to do to them what I did to Mickey."

"I'm not going to even ask," muttered Gajeel. "But what's so important you're not coming to your stinking guild already?"

Fluttering her eyelashes, Lucy coyly looked up at Gajeel. "You're not scared, are you? Awww, is big scary Gajeel-kun scared of being judged?"

"Shut up, before I knock you're pretty little teeth out."

"I do have rather pretty teeth, don't I?"

"Do you ever shut up?"

"Not particularly in your presence."

Gajeel scowled. "Prissy bitch. Hurry up and get lost then; I can't stand being in your presence much longer anyways."

Rolling her eyes, Lucy hoisted her bag further up her shoulder and began heading off to a side street. "Just head straight ahead and you'll see the guild soon; you can't get lost in Magnolia." Offering a lazy wave of her hand, Lucy turned the corner and began making her way towards her destination. "See you later, Gajeel."

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

Knocking lightly on the door before me, I tried my hardest to fight down a yawn. Gods, I was so tired. Even after chatting with Gajeel last night I couldn't sleep. I had faked to, of course, to let Gajeel sleep as well, but I'm pretty sure he was just humouring me. He knew I wasn't asleep, the same way Natsu and Ryos always knew.

I quickly clamped down on another yawn as I could hear movements from behind the door; grumbling and things being slammed down. Someone wasn't happy. Although, considering who lived here, I wasn't surprised.

Abruptly, the door was opened, and I rocked back on my heels to avoid the stick being swung at my face. "Woah, woah! It's okay! I'm not an enemy!"

"Oh," sneered Porlyusica, "it's you." The broom she held in her hands didn't budge from its position in my face, and I couldn't help but shift uneasily on my feet; who knew what she could do with it.

"Uh, yeah," I started a little awkwardly. "It's me. Look, I'm really sorry for bothering you and—"

"I don't care," Porlyusica snapped out before trying to slam the door on me. Luckily, I just managed to wedge my foot into the door to stop it from fully shutting, but I couldn't help but wince at the squeezing sensation that managed to penetrate my boots.

Shoving my body forwards to stop Porlyusica from attempting to the slam the door on me once again, I quickly blurted out my reasons for coming into the gap between the door and its frame. "I want to know about Anima."

The pressure against my foot eased, and I could hear the interest and suspicion Porlyusica held for my comment in her voice as she spoke from behind the door. "Why do you want to know about Anima? How do you know about Anima?"

"The same way I know about everything else," I replied honestly. "Because I saw it in my world. However, it was never explained fully. You're the only person that I trust to ask; you're the only who would know about the Anima." When I got no answer, I put as much desperation in my voice as I could. "_Please_, Grandine. Not to be cliché or anything, but you're my only hope."

After a tense moment where I honestly thought I was going to get a slab of wood slammed into my face, there was a harsh sigh from the other side of the door right before it was jerked open.

I nearly fell through, but managed to catch myself before I looked like an even bigger fool in front of the wise woman.

A rather terrifying glare met me when I edged into the front room, Porlyusica apparently not very amused at my screw-ups. The woman slammed the door right behind me, and I couldn't help but jump slightly.

Why was she so terrifying?

"Hurry up and sit down," the woman barked at me, prodding my back with her broom. "Sit down there and don't touch _anything_. I'll throw you out of my house before you could even blink."

Nodding violently, I shuffled over to what Porlyusica apparently counted as a chair; a fucking tree log. It was as uncomfortable as it loowever

oked, and I struggled to find my balance on it. The 'chair' was one of two set either side of a roughly hewn table in what was considered the 'living room.' Of course, it could also count as the medical room as the bed I had stayed in last time I was here was pushed to the side of the wall, tables of herbs of salves crowding around it.

The entire place smelt fresh and crisp; like I was in an open field during the spring sun, rather than actually in the centre of a bloody tree. Talk about weird – and I'd seen men who flew with their damn sideburns.

"Don't expect me to offer you anything," Porlyusica said as she sat down opposite me, her back as rigid as her chair. "You're trespassing and lucky enough that I'm in a good mood."

Oh, man, what was her in a bad mood then?

Drudging up a polite smile, I folded my hands and placed them in my lap carefully. "I won't waste your time at all, Porlyusica-san. I'll get straight into it. I wish to know about Anima, as I hold hope that it may help me get home."

"Back to your own dimension?" Porlyusica asked with actual interest in her voice. Her mouth was still set into a thin line as she looked at me, and her brow was drawn in disapproval, but her eyes weren't quite so harsh. "How do you think Anima will help you with that?"

"Well," I said hesitantly, "is it not a device capable of spanning dimensions? You managed to cross from Edolas to Earthland, so why could I not be able to use it to go back to Earth?"

"Because, you foolish little girl," Porlyuscia suddenly snapped out, back to being cranky. "It is only calibrated between Earthland and Edolas. Faust does not know of your world, so how could he possibly calibrate yours into Anima?"

Chewing on my bottom lip, I mulled over these facts. Anxiety made itself known in a churn of my gut, and I couldn't help but bite down harder on my lip in wake of the sensation. "But there has to be _someone _who knows of my world; how else would I be sent here?"

"Perhaps it's just an anomaly," Porlyusica suggested. "You don't know if anyone sent you here."

"Actually," I said slowly, "I do. I met the Celestial Spirit King, and he informed me that someone, or something, more powerful than him sent me here."

"More powerful than him?" Porlyusica muttered, almost to herself. "There is nothing more powerful than someone of his calibre that I know of either than…"

"Zeref," I finished for her, having thought of this possibility before. "But he works in Death magic, not Space and Time."

Frowning to herself, Porlyusica laced her fingers together and stared down at them. "Space and Time? Maybe we are not looking for someone or something, but rather a plural entity."

I tilted my head in consideration. "A collaboration, then? Two powers working together for a single cause?"

"Or," Porlyusica met my gaze steadily, "the single most powerful Union Raid to have been ever made."

I could almost feel the blood drain from my face at the implications. "…So what you're saying is…Not only are we dealing with something more powerful than a being in charge of a pocket dimension filled with star beings, but we may be dealing with two of them working _together_ in a massive spell to send _one girl_ on some fucked up journey?"

Porlyusica's face was deathly serious as she held my gaze. "Anything is possible with magic. We just can't be for sure yet."

"Great!" I tossed my hands into the air in surrender before scrubbing at my face with them. "I still don't know _what _the hell sent me here, and you've got nothing on how Anima could possibly help me! This fucking sucks!"

"Quit your whining," Porylusica snapped out, "just be grateful you got dropped off in a world where you can make friends – especially with your disposition."

"Maybe so," I agreed reluctantly, the comment stinging slightly, "but it would have been good to have been dragged across n my own body. I mean, why this one out of all the bodies in Earthland? It makes no sense."

"Perhaps not now, but later things may come into clarity." Porlyusica tapped her nails against the wooden table for a moment before abruptly standing up. "There's nothing else I can offer you. Leave now."

Standing up, I politely inclined my head in thanks towards Porlyusica before making my way towards the door. The abrupt dismissal didn't bother me that just was how Porlyusica was. However…

Pausing, one hand grasping the doorknob, I looked over my shoulder to meet Porlyusica's gaze. "You sound like you know Faust, and that you know the inner workings of Anima…You were also the only one to be sent over here. I'm starting to think that your dealing with Anima were a little bit more personal than accidental."

Rather than yelling at me to get out like I believed she would, Porlyuscia held my gaze and gave me a short nod. "I was one of the few people assigned to work on Anima, alongside my friends. I was in charge of making sure all the formulas were right, and that the testing was safe. It was during one of our tests that…One of my friends were in danger, and I couldn't let that happen."

"And that caused you to be sent here," I said quietly, respectful of what she had lost.

Porlyusica averted her gaze from mine, pain evident in her pinched lips. "Better me than them. Although I had wanted to go back to see my friends, I couldn't help but realise that what we had been doing was so wrong. Faust was greedy, manipulative and corrupt. What was worst was that we were helping him. I couldn't let what happened to my world happen to this one, so I elected to stay and protect it."

"Thank you," I said sincerely, opening the door and stepping out. "But before I go…Those friends of yours…" I met her gaze once more, hardly daring to blink. "We're they…Igneel, Metallica, Skia—?"

"Get out!" Porlusica shouted at me, hands lunging for a jar of herbs beside her. "Out! Now!"

Wisely, I ducked outside and shut the door, hearing the jar shattering against it. A close one if there ever was one…

Casting one last look at the lonely home behind me, I marched forwards to pick my bag up from where it had been waiting outside. Then, I headed for home. I'd had enough drama to last me years.

* * *

**Third Person P.O.V.**

Wearily trudging up the last of the stairs to his and Lucy's apartment – an apartment to share with someone who cared for him! -, Ryos fished out the key Lucy had given him when he first moved in from his pocket and shoved it into the door roughly.

It had been two days since he'd seen any of Team Natsu (as Natsu had taken to calling him, Gray, Erza and Lucy, alongside Happy), let alone Lucy as he had been off on a mission when she had gone to the hot springs days before Team Natsu's departure. He was starting to get lonely.

Sure, Team Shadow Gear took care of him during the day, chatting with him and offering to take him on missions, but it wasn't the same as hanging out with Team Natsu.

Although Ryos had been initially terrified of Natsu – the crazy, flaming boy was overwhelming for most, but to Ryos this was the boy who had defeated _Gajeel_, which meant he was also struck with a large case of hero worship – the elder dragon slayer always managed to make him laugh and wasn't afraid to join in on 'children games' like the mages at Phantom Lord.

Even Gray, with his stripping habits and his rather cool exterior was fun to be around. He didn't mind answering Ryos's curious questions, and actually knew all sorts of cool things about the guild and its members, having been a part of it for years.

The way that Happy wound everyone up made Ryos laugh harder than he could remember. Jet and Droy did try very hard to make him smile and laugh – lest Levy-chan be disappointed with them or Lucy kick their ass – but it wasn't the same as the feline.

Ryos even preferred Erza's specific style of being a mother-hen over Mirajane's. The bartender was just too…overbearing, to say the least. Erza showered Ryos in sweets and often bought him small trinkets and even cool clothes. He'd actually taken to wearing the leather gloves she'd gotten him, liking the metal knuckle joints and the way they made him feel cooler – shallow, yes, but he was just a child, couldn't he have some fun?

Most of all, Ryos missed Lucy.

Initially, when Lucy had basically all but kidnapped Ryos, he had been understandably terrified. I mean, hello? A crazy blonde chick who just beat up a good portion of his guild came swinging out of nowhere to pick him up and run. Ryos was more than scared at the ideas of what could happen to him, but when he'd finally met his…well, kidnapper, he'd been – _shocked, awed, in love _– pleasantly surprised.

For all her carefully chosen comments and rather blank expressions at times, Lucy was a wonderful person.

Not once did she ever doubt what Ryos had said, instantly believing that he was a dragon slayer – and he was! He'd proved it to her! She always seemed to understand what he needed; whether it be space, comfort, fed certain types of foods, or to just be read to. Lucy had accepted Ryos, and had taken care of him when no one else would.

And Ryos loved her for it.

At first, it had been a small crush. Lucy was undeniably beautiful, and she had been like Ryos's knight-in-shining-armour. But that love had gently developed and matured, and Ryos could safely say that he felt a more family orientated connection towards Lucy.

It wasn't a motherly one, even though Lucy had a rather maternal attitude towards Ryos and she often cuddled him like a mother would to her son. No, Ryos could now easily say to himself that he viewed Lucy as a big sister. Someone to look up to in life.

Of course, he wouldn't say that to her – he was a big boy and he didn't want to embarrass her – but it was nice sometimes to indulge in his fantasies of him calling her nee-chan, and she calling him otōto back, rather than just Ryos-kun.

It was a silly childish dream, but one that Ryos held onto tightly at night when he was sleeping in the bed alone, no Lucy beside him to offer him warmth. It gave him hope, and he hated to come home every afternoon and not find Lucy there, waiting for him with a dinner already cooking. Lyra would be helping her out, or maybe Andromeda, the women humming and singing together as they worked.

As he opened the door, Ryos could almost smell the crumbed chicken sizzling in the pan, the foreign dish – schnitzel, Lucy had always told him, chicken schnitzel – being one of his favourites. He could also almost hear Lucy's humming, the soft tones audible even over the door closing with a slam behind him.

"I'm home," the boy said like he always did when he entered the apartment, not expecting an answer. He dropped his bag to the ground and kicked it down the corridor, giving him some space to sit down and tug off his shoes. There weren't many things Lucy was particularly picky about, but the girl couldn't stand people trekking through her home with their shoes on. Ryos wisely followed this rule to the T, not wishing to face the blonde's wrath.

"Welcome back."

At the sound of the familiar tone, Ryos scrambled upright, one shoe only half off. His wide-eyed face was slack with shock as he caught sight of Lucy leaning out from the kitchen, spatula in hand and a smile on her weathered face. He must've stood there for a lot longer than he thought, as Lucy's smile widened into a rather smug grin. "Hey there, Ryos-kun, aren't you going to say hi back?"

The sound of her voice again brought Ryos out of his paralysis, and the boy launched himself forwards with a shout of "You're back!"

Grinning, Lucy tossed the spatula onto the kitchen counter so that she could grab the flying boy with both hands. She hoisted him into the air, the boy squealing with delight as he nearly touched the ceiling. Catching his light frame easily, Lucy drew Ryos in for a hug, her arms securing him to her curvy frame. "Happy to see me?"

Ryos gave no reply, too busy burying his face into her unbound hair and breathing in the earthy scent that was all _Lucy_. He could catch traces of ointments, blood and bandages on her scent, but that was what she always smelt like after a mission, so Ryos wasn't too worried.

Chuckling to herself, Lucy clutched Ryos as tightly as she could, the boy wrapping his arms around her neck in reply. "I'm going to take that as a yes." The blonde wasn't willing to let the boy go just yet, and so she took the time to familiarise herself with his magical signature once more.

The small mass that filled up the boy's magic core was currently fluctuating rapidly, and Lucy hummed happily with the ecstatic sensation it gave off. Ryos was just as happy to see her as she was to see him.

After taking another moment or two to cuddle close, Lucy gently drew back from their hug to look Ryos in the eyes.

The boy didn't seem to want to leave his spot tucked in close, however, and let out a small whine as his face was tugged out from beneath Lucy's. "Nee-chan, sto—"

Realising what he'd just said, Ryos choked slightly before clamping his mouth shut. He stared up at Lucy with wide, terrified eyes for a moment, his shock mirrored in her own face.

Just as Ryos was thinking of wriggling out of Lucy's arms and running (_far, far _away where nobody would _ever _find him and his embarrassment), a massive smile just about split Lucy's face into two.

"You think of me as your nee-chan?" she said softly, almost afraid to break the fragile moment the two of them were having. "Really?" Without waiting for an answer, Lucy dropped an excited kiss onto Ryos's forehead, the sudden contact lighting the boy's senses on fire. "That's so cool! I've always wanted to be called nee-chan!"

Laughing to herself, Lucy drew Ryos back in for another cuddle, her cheek rubbing itself against Ryos's. "You can call me nee-chan any time you want, sweetheart!"

Hope starting to bubble up inside him, Ryos pressed himself as closely as he could to Lucy. "R-Really? You don't mind?"

Drawing her head back, Lucy looked Ryos in the eyes. She then leant forwards to press her forehead to his, their noses nudging each other. "I don't mind at all, Ryos. In fact, I would love it if you called me nee-chan. And if you want, I can call you otōto." At the shocked look on Ryos's face, the blonde was quick to tack on the next bit. "Only if you want, though. I can continue to call you Ryos-kun if you want."

Shyly, Ryos dropped his head to peer up at Lucy from beneath his lashes. "Y-You can call me either. I don't mind."

A relieved look bloomed across Lucy's face right before she dropped a quick kiss on Ryos's forehead again. "Whatever you say, otōto." The singular kiss quickly multiplied as Lucy took the opportunity to plant feathery light kisses all over Ryos's cheeks and forehead. The boy began to giggle madly in response, and Lucy took that as a prompt to squeeze him tightly and kiss him quicker.

The small moment ended when Lucy landed a derisive peck on Ryos's nose, the boy scrunching it up in response. "That tickles."

"Good," Lucy replied as she gently lowered the boy to the ground. "And you'd better go wash up now before I tickle you further, ne?" To illustrate her point, Lucy wiggled her fingers slightly and waved them towards Ryos.

The dragon slayer let out a shriek of surprise before darting off to the bathroom to wash his hands, narrowly dodging Lucy's hands in the process.

Shaking her head in fondness, Lucy quickly turned back to the chicken she was cooking in one of her old, beat up pans, lest it burn. "Don't forget to finish taking off your shoes before you sit down at the dinner table, or else there'll be no schnitzel for you!"

Ryos let out a shrill yelp of disapproval at that statement, and Lucy smiled when she could hear the boy struggling to take the articles of clothing off. "Not the schnitzel, nee-chan!"

* * *

The next morning, Lucy walked to the guild hand-in-hand with Ryos.

She still had bags under her eyes as she hadn't slept much again last night, bodies with melted brains haunting her dreams, and she still had a slight limp from her half-healed leg, but she was happy.

Happy enough to feel guilty at what she had to tell Ryos.

Before entering the guild, Lucy stopped Ryos and knelt down to see him eye-to-eye. She placed both hands on his shoulders to show him how serious this conversation was. Evidentially he understood, as the silly smile that had been on his face since the night before slipped off quickly. "What is it, nee-chan?"

Suppressing the happy shiver she got whenever she heard him call her that, Lucy licked her lips and began to explain. "I know you won't like this, otōto, but today there's going to be an ex-Phantom Lord mage in our guild.

"Juvia-san?" the boy asked curiously. "I've already met her here, nee-chan, and I'm fine with it. Juvia-san was never mean to me, so I have no problem with her being here. Don't worry about it at all."

"No, not Juvia, someone else," Lucy replied steadily. "I know you won't like him being there, but I was ordered by the Magic Council to initiate him into our guild so that he can be of use to the community."

Okay, that was a lie there, as Lucy had been the one to ask for Gajeel, but Ryos didn't have to know that.

"Who is it?' Ryos asked quietly, an inkling of who it might be growing in his mind.

"You already know, my clever little brother," Lucy said sadly. "But I promise you, Gajeel can do nothing to you here. If he ever does, tell me or one of the others and we'll kick some more sense into him."

When Ryos didn't look any happier at her comment, Lucy placed a gentle hand on his face, nudging him back up to look into her eyes. "I promise to you, otōto, that no harm will come to you as long as I'm around. This is a promise of a lifetime, I swear on the stars above. And you know…"

"Celestial mages don't go back on their word," Ryos finished for her with a soft smile. Lucy had often said the mantra to him when she was convincing him of something, and the blonde had never steered him wrong yet. He would trust his sister figure now, trust her with his life.

Lucy stood back up with a groan, her leg throbbing slightly. She waved off Ryos's concerns easily though, and offered her hand to him.

He took it, and allowed himself to be led into the guild.

* * *

Three days later, Ryos was starting to get used to Gajeel's presence in the guild.

Three days later and Lucy still hadn't told anyone else about her mission, despite Levy's and Mirajane's insistence that she tell them.

Three days later, Fairy Tail had begun to accept Gajeel, especially since they'd seen Levy forgive him and begin to hang around him with Lucy whenever the blonde was without her brotherly figure.

Three days later and Lucy still hadn't slept more than an hour at a time, haunted by dead bodies covering rooms and bloodied hands that couldn't be cleaned.

Three days later, Team Natsu arrived.

Three days later they told their story, helped Erza mourn Simon and told their story a few more times.

Three days later, Lucy had another nightmare.

Three days later, Natsu finally went and saw his partner alongside Happy.

Neither of the two cared that it was night, and that apparently Lucy went to bed earlier than most as she shared the bed with Ryos and didn't want to wake him by coming home late. They had just learnt that their partner was home, and they wanted to see her damn it!

So, like usual, they flew to Lucy's house and entered through her window, Natsu making sure to take his shoes off as he went.

However, unlike usually, Lucy didn't wake up at their arrival, the blonde too busy trapped inside her dreams to sense the two.

"Woah," Happy said as he hovered beside Natsu to stare down at Lucy's twitching form. "What's up with Lucy?"

The blonde wasn't holding onto Ryos like she normally was, which may have been the first sign – surprisingly, Lucy didn't pass up on a chance to cuddle as many had found out eventually. She was also twitching and shuddering, small cries escaping her throat as her arms lashed out at invisible assailants, barely missing Ryos at times. She murmured to herself a mantra of "no's," and scrunched her face up like she was about to cry – or something unpleasant was splashing against her face.

"Dunno," Natsu said, breathing in Lucy's natural scent – nature in every sense with a splash of iron – and watching her frantic movements. "I think she has a nightmare."

"Then wake her up," Happy prompted, his usual smiling face rather serious. "She doesn't look like she's having fun."

Nodding in agreement, face furrowed in thought, Natsu leant in close to poke at his partner's arm. "Luce…Hey, Luce, wake up. C'mon, weirdo, you're having a nightmare. C'mon, Luce. Wake up."

Just as Natsu thought he might have to take drastic action – namely picking her up and shaking her about to wake her up – Lucy's eyes shot open with a gasp. Her pupils were dilated as her mouth opened and closed wordlessly, almost looking like she was choking on air.

Wait, she was choking on air. Or, at least, she wasn't breathing.

Seeing this, Natsu was quick to give her a thump on the back which, indeed kick started her breathing, but also scared her into punching Natsu in the face with a shriek of "Get away! Don't touch me! I swear it wasn't me!"

"Natsu!" Happy cried out in shock, watching his best friend go toppling back onto the wooden floor with a curse and a thud. "Are you alright?"

"Natsu…?" came Ryos's confused murmur as he was awoken by the shouts and sudden movement right by him. "…What?"

"N-Natsu?!" Lucy stammered out, hands flying to her mouth as she pulled herself out of her nightmares. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" The blonde quickly scrambled out of bed, tossing the blankets onto a now very much awake Ryos. "I didn't realise…!"

"Hey," Natsu said as he got up off the ground, right hand rubbing at a red mark on his left cheek gingerly, "it's okay. You had no idea what you were doing, even if you were acting like a weirdo."

Blushing brightly as she realised what had happened, Lucy slipped out of her bed to approach Natsu, hands fluttering nervously in worry. "I'm so sorry, Natsu! I have no excuses for what I did."

"You could say it's because you're such a weirdo," Happy supplied helpfully, having calmed down as he realised his friend was alright. "That might work."

"Happy!" Lucy said rather unnecessarily in Natsu's opinion, tired face lighting up in surprise and happiness. "You're both back! Does that mean everyone else is too?"

"Everyone's back?" Ryos piqued up from behind Lucy, startling the blonde into whirling around. "Ryos, what are you doing up?"

The boy gave her a flat look. "I could hardly sleep through all the shouting, could I?"

Another wave of blood rushed to Lucy's face as she stammered out more apologies. "Oh, go back to bed, Ryos-kun, I don't want you tired in the morning."

"That's a great idea!" Natsu said excitedly, starting to feel the nausea and exhaustion that had occurred from eating the large amount of raw power in the Tower of Heaven again. "Let's all go to sleep!"

Rather than smiling and agreeing, or even outright denying like she normally would, Lucy cast a rather unsure glance towards the bed. Natsu could smell the sweat clinging to her skin, and could even hear her heart's pace elevate slightly; all signs of fear. But that was ridiculous, why would _Lucy _of all people be scared of a bed?

"Ne, Lucy," Happy said slowly, also picking up on the girl's unusual hesitation. "Are you alright?"

A sickly smile was quickly pasted onto the blonde's face, and both Happy and Natsu noted for the first time since they'd seen her again the bags under her eyes and the hollow look she cast towards everything. "Y-Yes, I'm quite alright, thank you. Why do you ask?"

"Because you look like crap," Natsu said bluntly. He then cocked his head to the side. "Have you been getting any sleep recently?"

Apparently he'd nailed the issue on the head as Lucy flinched slightly from the question. For her credit, she didn't deny anything, merely pressed her lips together and looked towards the ground.

At seeing this, Ryos's face creased into a frown. "I thought so. You've been looking worse and worse recently and been insisting that I get plenty of sleep, you hypocrite. It's from that stupid mission you went on recently, isn't it? "

"I don't want to talk about it," Lucy murmured softly, eyes glazed over as entrails spilled over bloodied hands flashed through her mind. "Especially not to you, otōto."

Pouting, Ryos crossed his arms and stared at Lucy's back that was directed firmly at him. "Is it because I'm a child or something? 'Cause you know that—"

"It's not just because you're a child," Lucy said tiredly, averting her gaze from Natsu's curious one. "It's for the same reason that I won't tell Natsu, or Happy, or most of the other guildmembers. You guys are just too innocent, and I like you too much to take it when your opinions change of me after hearing what happened in that bloody mission."

"Is this one of the situations you warned me of?" Natsu asked with uncharacteristic gentleness, not wanting to startle the girl into anything – namely, punching him in the face again. "One of those 'bad things'?"

Lucy licked her suddenly dry lips. "Worse. Way worse – and I really don't want to talk about it anymore, okay?" She crossed her arms across the night shirt that she wore, shivering slightly as she finally registered how cold her bare feet were against the floorboards of her apartment.

Apparently, this was all the prompting Natsu needed to pick her up, ignoring her protests all the while, and dump her on the bed beside Ryos.

Before Lucy could even think of escaping, Natsu was wrapping Lucy's fur blanket around the three of them, tucking the ends in so tightly that Lucy had no wriggle room. Natsu was nearly hanging off the bed since there wasn't much room, but he didn't mind too badly; he'd just lay on Lucy if he needed to. She wouldn't mind too much (he hoped).

"Hey," Lucy protested half-heartedly, a yawn working its way up her throat. "Not cool, man…"

"Nah," Natsu said with a wolfish grin as he winked at Ryos over Lucy's head, "I'm more like hot."

"Aye," Happy agreed as touched down in the small spot between Lucy and Natsu head, content to bunk there for the night.

A soft snort erupted out of Lucy's nose before she could stop it, but it quickly turned into a fully-fledged yawn that wracked her body and made Ryos giggle.

"C'mere you," Lucy said to the boy when she finished, managing to get an arm around him in their blanket burrito to bring his head onto her stomach. "Time to go back to bed."

"You as well," Natsu informed her right before dragging her closer so that her head was nestled right next to his, their hair tangling together in their proximity. "I'll chase away your nightmares tonight, okay? So get some sleep."

Sighing, Lucy let her eyes drift shut and relaxed. "I'm trusting you to, partner."

"Always," Natsu said before closing his eyes and drifting off alongside the other three inhabitants of the bed they were just about spilling off.

Three nights later, Lucy is sleeping through the night right beside her little brother, winged friend and the protector of her dreams. She is happy.

* * *

**Ghfoyu4gIRBWGVNRgjfn.**

**I'm dead.**

**That took soooooo long to write, but I think it was worth it. So much FLUfh! Ughhhhhhh!**

**FYI, Lucy will not always refer to Ryos as otōto, as that's just so hard to writeon my laptop and I'm a lazy human being. Also, in the last chapter it had said the the council had given the messenger bird the package to give to Lucy, yet in this chapter it was said that Jellal had. This is because I'm making it so that jellal used those funky thought projections to make copies of the magic council to trick the bird and blah, blah, blah. **

**I'm just so tired right now. I'll reply to Pms and stuff in the morning when I'm actually awake and not falling asleep every five minutes. **

**Ciao friends.**


	21. Beautiful Baby Brats (ft Momma Tia)

**Disclaimer: **_Don't own FT, but I finally own a Tumblr account! It's under this exact same name if you wish to chat to me about anything really – the stories I write, FT itself, or anything in general. I'm happy enough to reply – if I could just learn how to use the damn website…_

**Warning: **_Ugh, this one's slightly depressing and dramatic again, but I'll make up for it with lots of Natsu insight and little fluffy moments dusted over the top. It's time for some MORE FILLER! But we're just finishing setting up for the whole 'Battle of Fairy Tail' shindig. But there's also the appearance of another character I'm sure you'll love. __ Enjoy._

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

It was often said that you couldn't find a denser person in all of Fairy Tail's history than Natsu Dragneel.

Perhaps it was an exaggeration on several people's behalf – Gray, mostly – but many did believe that the destructive dragon slayer didn't have many brain cells to rub together as soon as he was off the battlefield and in real life.

He wasn't very observant or knowledgeable when it came to other human beings. Especially when it came to_ feelings _either than hunger or _girls._

Let alone a human _girl _who was experiencing a lot of _feelings_.

However, to Natsu, it felt like he was one of the only people who could see the storm cloud that was hanging over Lucy's head, and the exhaustion that was always dragging at her limbs. It made her slower, less likely to react to people positively, and she would flinch away from certain questions or comments.

Natsu knew this was because of that stupid _S-class _– according to Erza, who knew the colour code of mission ranks, and black was most certainly some form of S-class – mission Lucy had run off to while they had dealt with _Jellal _and that _stupid tower_. He also knew that majority of the guild was aware that something had gone bad about the mission and that Lucy hadn't been happy when she returned from it.

Therefore it confused Natsu as to why people like Mirajane and Erza asked about the mission constantly, wanting to know every last detail about an apparently rookie mages' S-class mission.

Perhaps it was a matter of pride with those two girls – Mirajane had been one of the most foremost S-class mage and Erza was currently one, and the idea that a freelancer, newbie like Lucy being chosen for a high-rated and dangerous mission over them had perhaps hurt their pride just a _little _bit. Whatever it was, it clouded the two girls from seeing how uncomfortable Lucy was with their constant questioning, and how her eyes would go glassy at times, like she was about to cry or was reliving horrible memories—

Something Natsu knew about, remembering days from years before where Gray would freeze up whenever people mentioned beloved teachers, or even Mirajane or Erza themselves when their harsh pasts were brought up.

At those times, Natsu was quick to distract the blonde with silly antics or frivolous requests. Lucy, Happy and he had visited the original duos' beloved fishing spot several times in the past few days, both Natsu and Happy ecstatic to show off something precious to them.

Of course, their thoughts of showing off to Lucy with their fishing skills were quickly drowned when Lucy simply used her bare hands and an odd technique called 'tickling' to flip several fish onto the shore.

Those days when Natsu and Happy got frustrated with the seemingly perfect girl would almost always end with them shoving Lucy into the river, only to be dragged in for an impromptu water fight that would leave them all breathless and soaking.

But happiness and laughter was always swift to die whenever Lucy returned to the guild only to find Bisca or Alzack trying to talk to her about guns – having heard in the great grapevine that she was highly proficient with the weapons. Or perhaps it was someone bringing up the newly discovered downfall of the Magic Council – Lucy's face had turned sour at that, but a round of what sounded like knowing laughter from Gajeel oddly had her lips quickly turning up at the corners.

Natsu could only offer laughter during the struggles of the day and a pair of comforting arms during the nightmare-riddled nights that had him bolting upright in his own bed because of the distant screams he could hear ringing in his ears that sent him bounding out of bed to get to Lucy's house.

He'd always be met with a distraught Ryos trying to comfort a trembling Lucy caught in the throes of a nightmare, and the young boy would always turn to him with pleading eyes that _begged, begged, begged _Natsu to _do something!_

But all Natsu could do was bundle up Lucy in his arms and attempt to rock her back to sleep.

He wanted to fight off her terrors and burn away every last one of her bad dreams, but he knew any fire would only give the fears strength.

The dragon slayer only felt helpless those nights in the deep dark, or in the next morning when he'd stare into Lucy's pale and exhausted face whenever she'd actually let him check if she was alright.

The sleepless nights slowly built up, and Natsu noticed that Lucy took every opportunity she could to take naps during the day.

It was only ever with the people Natsu noticed to understand and realise that something was wrong with Lucy, as the blonde heavily avoided going near the booth where Erza was sitting sharpening her swords, and would instead fall asleep leaning on Gray's shoulder as he fiddled with an ice sculpture.

Juvia would normally get mad at whoever dared to get so close to her beloved, but the girl would instead gently peel Lucy away from Gray when the Ice mage's arm got stiff and tired. She'd then place Lucy's head in her lap and gently pet at her tangled hair until it shone with a healthy gloss.

Whenever being near Gray and Juvia got too cold for her – Gray's body ran at a ridiculously low temperature for a human, and Juvia was always cool to the touch – Lucy would curl up next to Levy as the girl read a book, or would find herself tucked away in Elfman's arms as he hummed her a surprisingly nice lullaby.

Sometimes Lucy would even be found perched on Cana's lap, having been placed there by the older girl when she'd fallen asleep beside her. Lucy's legs would be wrapped around Cana's waist and her head tucked into the crook of Cana's shoulder as the older girl quietly drank or fiddled with her cards, careful not to disturb the blonde.

Those were all fine with Natsu – especially as he would occasionally get his turn during the day, Lucy opting to cuddle with Happy as she napped on the booth seat with her head firmly pressed against Natsu's thigh – it was the times when Lucy would nap against Gajeel that made him _**seethe.**_

The fact that he was the man who had beaten and broken her just a mere month ago didn't seem to deter Lucy from slipping into whatever booth he was in and taking a nap beside him. She'd always end up with her head in the crook of his neck, and while Natsu _knew _that Gajeel was uncomfortable with the contact, the _bloody bastard _would always keep Lucy there while turning around to give Natsu _ONE BIG SMARMY SMIRK._

It was nearly enough to make Natsu burst into furious flames, but then he'd remember the terrified look in Lucy's eyes when his flames had erupted from beneath her during the whole Phantom Lord fiasco, and the bubbling guilt in his stomach would drag his flames back down into his skin.

So Natsu did his best to ignore the anger roiling in his gut alongside the guilt, and would merely keep his eyes on Gajeel whenever Lucy was nearby, or on the incoming explosion he knew would occur sometime soon.

It came one day when Lucy was playing a round of Texas poker with Astoria and the two boys that were a part of her team – Jason and Frank, right?

The four of them were having a great time, laughing and jibing at one another as they tossed in handfuls of jewels to raise the stakes.

Indeed, it seemed like it was one of the rare few days Lucy was truly happy – yesterday having been a day spent quietly reading with Ryos back at her apartment, actively avoiding any other human.

That was until Mirajane sauntered by with a tray of drinks ready for Team Shadow Gear sitting nearby. The woman couldn't help but duck slightly as she went by Lucy and ask teasingly, "Are you going to tell me about that mission of yours, yet?"

Natsu was sitting in direct view of Lucy, having taken a moment to recover from a tussle with several of his nakama, and coincidently got front row seats to seeing the sharp snap of Lucy's sanity.

The only sign that shit was about to go down was Lucy's pupils shrinking at an alarming rate and her body releasing a burst of distressed hormones. Which was, of course, a teller for someone with heightened senses like Natsu, Ryos and Gajeel.

The three dragon slayer's reacted to the sudden influx of information coming from their noses by surging to their feet, ready to face the threat – it would be odd to say that their ascent was time perfectly with Lucy's own sudden one, but not entirely surprising considered how well in-tune those three were with Lucy.

Majority of the guild fell dead silent when they heard the clatter of the poker table rocking back from the force of Lucy's ascent, and they all watched with wide eyes as Lucy – unwavering Lucy, the girl who could take everything on the chin, who could put up with Natsu's annoying antics and was more than willing to pick up Gray's clothes and hand them back to him (usually washed and folded the next day) – turned on their very own beloved Mirajane.

"Stop it!" the blonde hissed out, hands clenched and hair practically standing on end as she glared at a shocked Mirajane. "Stop talking! Stop asking me about that _fucking mission_! Don't you understand? I never want to talk about it again! I don't want to say _anything _about that horrible day, least of all to any of you! So stop fucking asking me, Mirajane, before I finally lose it!"

Lucy slammed her fist down onto the table she had been sitting at for emphasis, easily blowing a chunk off of the weathered wood. She hardly seemed to notice the splinters that dug their way into her skin, making blood well up and drip over the wounded digits.

"I-I'm sorry," Mirajane stammered, placing her tray of drinks in front of a shell-shocked Jet. "I didn't mean to…J-Just let me fix you up." The barmaid reached for the cloth she had hanging at her waist, intent on cleaning Lucy's hand.

However, Lucy didn't want Mirajane's _pity_, her _kindness – _she only wanted to be left alone. So she slapped away Mirajane's reaching hands and backed away from her and the looks she was getting from her fellow guildmates.

"Jesus _fucking _Christ," Lucy muttered to herself, running her hands agitatedly through her hair. The blood from her injured hair smeared itself through the blond locks, blending itself with the dyed streaks already in it. "Can you just…leave me alone, please?"

Without waiting for an answer, Lucy was already turning away from Mirajane and running for the door out of the guild. Her face was screwed up as she passed Natsu, and he could smell salt as she brushed by. He reached out for one of her arms, but she twisted away like she'd been burnt, and that just made him _hurt._

Even Ryos hollers and pleas for her to stay as he chased after her didn't make Lucy stop, and the small boy could only wail when a foxy-spirit appeared in a flash to wrap her tail around Lucy and make them both vanish in a shimmer of light.

Silence reigned in the guild in the moments after Lucy's departure, only broken up by Ryos's sniffles and wails.

When Bisca went to comfort the child, having grown fond of the small boy, Ryos was quick to follow Lucy's example by slapping her hand away.

As Bisca cradled her hand in shock, Ryos pointed an accusing finger at her, tears still streaming down his face. "IT'S ALL YOU FAULT THAT SHE LEFT!" His rage was directed to the entire guild as he stamped his feet and bared sharp incisors at them. "IF YOU'D JUST _REALISED _THAT SHE WAS IN PAIN, THEN NONE OF THIS WOULD'VE HAPPENED!"

The youngest dragon slayer dashed the tears from his eyes with childish hands, bottom lip quivering unhappily as he continued in a harsh whisper. "You're all such idiots who can't even see when their nakama's in pain…"

"Ryos…" Levy started unsurely from her seat, but that was all the prompting that Ryos needed to sprint out the door and head for his shared apartment with Lucy.

When Levy made to go after the boy, Jet and Droy were quick to hold her back. When she tried to argue against them, it was only the sudden presence of Gajeel that stopped her in her tracks.

The man known as Black Steel placed a large hand on Levy's head, gently pushing her back into her seat. But his eyes weren't on the girl when he spoke, too busy addressing all of Fairy Tail for that. "Let the runt go; he'll just be mad at you for running off Princess like that and less likely to come back. Leave him to his own devices for a while."

"And what of Lucy?" demanded Erza, her emotions in a whirl at the sudden turn of events – _why had she not seen the signs? Why had she not done anything either than sit there and watch with an open mouth?_ "What is to become of her? She attacked one of her nakama and ran off hysterically."

When Mirajane attempted to assure Erza that she was fine and that it was her fault, Gajeel bulldozed right over her with his significantly louder voice. "Well, maybe she wouldn't have done that if you guys had fucking realised that damn mission was a taboo. Her experience wasn't the same as the pansy missions that you, Titania, have done. What you don't realise is those black-marked, Council-issued S-classes are only for a select few."

"Like who?" Erza fired back, anger evident in her form as she stood up and stalked towards Gajeel.

"People like me an' Princess," Gajeel growled back.

At those words, Natsu felt the last bit of his restraint snap. He'd just watched one of his closest friends flip out and leave without him, and now this idiot was comparing his disgusting self with Lucy?

Ignoring Happy's pleas for him to _stop and think, Natsu, this isn't something Lucy would want! _Natsu marched up to shove his face into Gajeel's, fury evident in his eyes. "_Lucy is __**nothing **__like you."_

Surprisingly, Gajeel barked out a round of vicious laughter at that, startling Natsu into taking a step back. "Oh, Salamander," Gajeel sniggered, "Lucy _is _like me, only worse. At least I show my ugly side – that girl's going to explode one day when she can't hold back all the secrets and bodies under her bed."

The man then disregarded the questions and demands that Natsu and several of his guildmates threw at him, all too busy laughing to himself and heading out the door – his fun was done here.

Off to the side, Gray fumed at a table beside Juvia, furious with himself and several others – namely Gajeel. "How _dare _that bastard compare himself to Lucy; she isn't scum like him."

Beside him, Juvia could only gulp down memories of bloody blades and rolling heads, and hope that no one asked her what she thought of Lucy Heartifilia.

Because she had no words to describe that anomaly that was a killer with severe guilt and PTSD problems who slept in her lap and took care of a troubled boy.

No words at all.

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

I could feel Vulp's worried eyes on me when I stepped away from her, satisfied in knowing that we were far out of Magnolia and away from prying eyes – there was no need for Vulp to use her illusions to hide us anymore. But I had no wish to see more pity today, nor to hear concerned words from loved ones. I was just…so tired and angry.

"You can head back now," I said shortly to Vulp, already heading off of the road that led from Magnolia towards the forest that surrounded it on either side; nature would keep me calm, and away from human life. "I'm just going to have a few days to myself, maybe even attempt to sniff out Ultear while I'm at it."

Surprisingly, Vulp didn't try and argue with me, just dismissed herself silently.

Well if that wasn't a teller that I was acting weird – Vulp never one to back down from arguing about my wellbeing, even when I was cranky and tired – I didn't know what was.

But I didn't seem to know much nowadays. Didn't know that I still held so much anger and frustration. The last time I'd snapped like that at someone I trusted was years ago, back when my little sister couldn't understand why I disappeared almost every night, intent on keeping myself distracted from the overwhelming expectation of my parents.

I didn't blame her then, but I was just so frustrated and tired that I couldn't help but shout and scream and rage at everything.

Nothing had ever hurt as much as the fear on my sisters face that night, nor the silent treatment that followed for what felt like days on end.

After that I had vowed to keep my temper in check, to continue smiling politely even when I was frustrated beyond all belief. And it had worked, even in Fairy Tail where stupidity was a regular occurrence and destruction reigned freely.

Until today.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I shouted to myself as I stalked into the forest, yanking at my hair in punishment. "You couldn't just keep it down, could you, Tia? You just _had _to let it all spill out! You're damn lucky you didn't slip up about the mission itself, or that would be the end of Lucy's life as a respected human being!"

I couldn't help but laugh hysterically. "Imagine that! The most righteous guild in all of Fiore holding a murder in its midst! What a joke!" Another round of laughter bubbled up out of my throat, along with it even more tears.

"I'm so sick of this," I growled out, wiping the tears away once more. "God almighty, what was I thinking? That I'd be able to play God and fix all of this? This one huge clusterfuck of a universe?"

Furious with myself again, I kicked at the ground with my boots and wound my way through the trees. I wasn't heading anywhere in particular, I just needed to get away for a few days to cool off. Even if I only had the clothes on my back – an old t-shirt and shorts –, no food and only a knife in my right boot for weapons, I'd be able to survive out here. If I was really desperate I could call on my spirits, having tucked their keys in my pocket as per usual that morning.

But I didn't think I would – being alone would definitely help me more than hinder me.

"You'll be fine," I reassured myself. "It's only for a few days. You'll return in time for the Harvest Festival, just to kick Bickslow's ass and help out where you can." I let out a sharp sigh at that thought. "…Even if you really don't want to…Fuck my life."

* * *

Brushing back an overhanging branch, I stumbled my way onto the road I'd been searching fruitlessly for during the past day and a half.

"Thank every god above," I said breathlessly as I detangled twigs and burs from my ponytail. "That's gotta be one of the worst hikes I've ever done." A soft shudder rolled its way up my spine at the thought of some of the creatures I'd encountered during my walk. "Definitely the worst…"

Shaking myself out one more time to dislodge any creepy sensations or creatures caught on me, I set off at a brisk trot towards the small town nestled in the valley below.

I was only heading there for some food and maybe to scope out any keys before heading back towards Fairy Tail. It would be a nice break from natural scenery – forests and meadows are only interesting the first few hours you walk through them.

Luckily this town seemed to have a thriving market set up in its centre, and so I was more than happy to go gallivanting off to buy some of the local fruits with the meagre amount of jewels I had in my pockets. If I didn't have enough money, I could always offer to complete small errands or fix things – living on your own in the wilderness with the guidance of several thousand year old beings gave you a good know-how on creating things and fixing things from your surroundings.

Weaving my way through the throngs of people that swamped the quaint marketplace, mindful of pick-pockets, I inspected the wares showcased by each stall for cheap goods.

While the scent of freshly baked cinnamon scrolls wafting from the store set up in front of a house was tempting, I knew that the sugary treat wasn't helpful in filling me up and, therefore, was not worth my time and money.

Unfortunately.

Settling on a small stall selling various breads, I began scanning the shelves for a cheap yet heavy bread that would fill me up. If I had enough money over I could even buy some cheese from a nearby dairy stall. And there was those strips of salted meat I'd seen on my way in…

Absently licking my lips at the thought of the staple meals I could create with those kinds of wares, I leant forwards to politely bring the stall owner's attention away from a browsing woman and towards me – an actual customer.

However, the familiar sensation of someone slipping their hand into my shorts' back pocket was more than enough to deter me from my task.

With a sharp shout building up in my throat I grasped the intruding hand in one of my own whilst also spinning on my heels to face the sneaky thief.

The shout was quickly strangled, however, when I took in the profile of my 'thief.'

"_Oh my God…_" I said to myself in English as I stared into startled dark blue eyes. "_Why do you fuck with me like this?_"

"I'm sorry miss!" piped up the young boy whom I was still holding. "It's clear you don't speak the language or understand what I'm saying right now. So…" The child trailed off awkwardly, already turning his scrawny and raggedly clothed body to run away. "I'm just gonna go now…"

The tug of his hand in my own quickly brought me out of mentally cursing whatever divine being had sent me to this stupid, and I was quick to jerk the boy to a stop. "Wait just a second there, brat."

"What the hell!" the boy said as he whipped his head back to face me, his spiky hair swinging in a halo around it. "You can talk!"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his incredulous, little voice. "Yes, I can talk. That's something we're doing right now, so clearly I can achieve the function."

The boy narrowed his eyes suspiciously at me, his free hand going up to brush blond locks out of his startling dark eyes. "Are you pulling my leg right now? 'Cause I'm sure as hell think you are, I just can't tell with the useless crap that's being spewed out along with it."

My irritation spiked at his snarky comment. "That's it," I said abruptly, startling the boy. "You're coming with me."

Before the boy could protest at all, I was already bending down (and down, down, and down, because _damn_, this brat was even shorter than _Ryos_) and scooping him up over my shoulder in a fireman's carry.

An irritated grunt escaped the child's mouth as he folded over my shoulder, but he was quick to recover his breath and start complaining.

Unfortunately.

"Hey!" the boy barked out as I began marching out of the marketplace, ignoring the locals curious stares. "This isn't legal, you know? Kidnapping kids! You could go to jail for this!"

"Then I'll be there right beside you," I shot back after giving an awkward smile to a man who looked like he might intervene in my current task, "because being a little thief isn't exactly legal either."

A huff escaped the boys' lips at that, the air tickling its way down my neck. I ignored it, alongside the other moans of disapproval the boy made in protest, but I couldn't ignore the fingers that were trying to sneak their way into my pocket again.

What did this kid think he could find? I _literally _looked like I'd slept in a ditch – more like on top of a rather uncomfortable tree branch – and had gone to the cheapest stall there was. I was practically spelling out that I was a poor, homeless chick. Idiot kid.

"Keep trying to steal my stuff and I'll cut your fingers off," I said casually, doing my best to hide the humour in my voice – no need for the child to think I was finding his behaviour amusing or anything. Because I wasn't. Not at all.

The fingers retracted pretty quickly after that, but then the moaning started up not long after. And since the damn kids' head was flopped just over my shoulder, the noise went almost directly into my ear.

"That offer now extends to your tongue if you don't knock it off," I said. We were nearing the outskirts of the town now, and I could see a small log just off of the side of the road, having known its location prior due to walking by it mere minutes ago.

"Not unless you tell us where we're going," the boy replied. I could feel his head raise off of me as he clearly tried to see where we were going, but I was quick to roughly bounce him to send his head shooting down again. "Why are you so mean to me?"

"I'm mean to everyone," I answered truthfully, "but especially to snotty-nosed thieves like you."

"Oooh," the boy muttered, "low blow."

"Kill shot," I countered right before slinging him off of my shoulder to toss him on the fallen log.

He hit it with a bounce of his tiny tush, and could only blink (now that I look at them…) violet eyes at me in shock.

"Budge over, squirt," I said to break him out of his shock, already nudging at the skinny legs he possessed with my own knee. "Gotta let your elders sit down."

With a flailing motion of thin limbs and too-big clothes, the boy managed to move far enough along the log so that I was able to take a seat.

"Thanks," I said in response, now suddenly feeling very awkward as I had just captured this small child based on a hunch – a rather large hunch at that! – and now I really had no idea what to do.

Clearly the boy had no idea what to do either as he merely swung his short little legs – God they were cute little things – and deliberately looked anywhere but at me.

"Okay…" I sighed out when the silence got too tense and I had _actually _figured out a way to start this conversation. "So I was going to take you aside for a massive conversation on how stealing is wrong and all that shit, but I just realised that would be very hypercritical of me."

That seemed to raise Sting's interest as the boy instantly looked at me, eyes squinted once more. "What? A crazy chick with a thing for kidnapping has stolen stuff before?" The boy then put on a sarcastic tone of voice as he raised his hands dramatically. "_I don't believe it!_" The suspicious look was back in his eyes once more when he looked back at me. "I bet you were probably thinking the best way to steal those breads when I bumped into you."

Resisting the urge to thump this annoying brat over the head – God damn it all, even _Maya _had been better than this – I gave him a squinty-eyed look back. "'Bumping?' Is that what the kids call it these days?"

"Ha, ha, ha," the boy shot back, crossing his arms across his ragged shirt. "You old-timers think you're _so _funny."

"Correction," I said as I gently tapped him on the nose with my index finger, "I'm _hilarious._"

My hand got shoved back at that with a shout, but I couldn't help but burst into loud laughter in reply.

Then I stopped.

Oh God, I had just laughed. Like…_literally laughed. _Laughed like I hadn't done so in _days. _

I just _fricking _laughed like I hadn't murdered dozens of men!

I couldn't help but clap my hands to my mouth in shock, astounded that this small, weedy little shit of a child had just made me laugh _honestly_ – something that several of my guildmates had attempted to do since that disastrous mission.

"Hey, lady." A small finger poking into my arm had me turning to face the boy once more. His face was screwed up in confusion as he peered up at me – a small part of me wondered if, in my old body, the boy would have to even crane his neck that much to look me in the eye – and his lips twisted into a pout as he spoke. "You alright there? Never heard yourself laugh before?"

The boy then rolled his eyes and retracted his hand. "I wouldn't be surprised, what with a sour face like yours."

"You adorable little brat," I cried out before quickly standing up and scooping the unsuspecting child into my arms. "You're amazing!"

To the boys' surprised shouts, I tossed him into the air several times, catching him gently each time he descended. The boys' shouts turned from confused fear to joyful ones, although he denied it vehemently when I finally ceased the activity.

"You're crazy, lady," he said once he gathered his breath back, but it was muffled as I was too busy giggling and nuzzling his face with my own. He showed his displeasure with this action by tugging at my hair with an embarrassed "Quit it," but that didn't deter me.

When I finally calmed down, I was quick to place the boy on the ground and take a step back, apology already spilling out of my mouth. "Sorry about that. It's just…I haven't laughed like that in a long time, and I was just so excited. Plus," I tagged on the end thoughtfully, "you're too damn cute not to cuddle."

The boy's face was a bright red at my reply, and he rubbed at his arm and shuffled awkwardly on his feet as he clearly searched for an answer.

"Next time," he managed to blurt out eventually, "try to cut out the weird hugging, weirdo."

Softening my face into a smile, I answered quietly, "So you think there'll be a next time?"

"What?" the boy spluttered out, face darkening in colour even further. "No! I didn't—I just-!" The boy abruptly pointed a finger at me. **"STOP PUTTING WORDS INTO MY MOUTH!"**

I grinned and ignored his protests. "Depending on your next answer, I think we may see each a lot more."

A suspicious look came across the boys' face at that, his blush fading away. "What? What'cha asking?"

Bending over so I was the same eye level as him, I asked him very carefully, "What's your name?"

An incredulous expression crossed his face before it was quickly discarded for a haughty one. "That's an easy one! It's…" He then leant in towards me in a conspiring manner, prompting me to edge in closer as well.

He cupped his palm and breathed his answer into my ear. _"Go fuck yourself."_

I whipped myself upright to see the boy throw himself back with a howl of laughter, arms clutching at his stomach. "Y-You're face! Oh man, it's going to kill me!"

"You little punk!" I hollered out, trying to hide my amusement with irritation – because that was pretty damn good prank – as I swiped at him. "Answer the damn question!"

Between giggles as he darted away from me and down along the road out of town, the boy managed to answer. "I-It's Sting! Sting Eucliffe, you old hag!"

His answer caused me to grin victoriously – I knew it was a damn good hunch when I saw the familiar facial features and that scar above his eyebrow – before speeding up to pluck him off the ground by the scruff of his shirt. "I knew it!"

Initially twisting around in my arms to get free, Sting quickly paused at my comment and stared at me. "How'd you know my name was Sting?"

"Easy!" I said cheerfully, unconcerned with his suspicions. "Your magic is very familiar to dragon slayer magic, and there's only three male dragon slayer's that I haven't met in Fiore! Two are around my age, and I already know where they are!"

(Laxus (who I had successfully avoiding since my induction into Fairy Tail, alongside his team – there was _no way _I was getting anywhere near those emotional issues and sadistic tendencies.) was about to come swinging into Fairy Tail, and Cobra was out jaunting about with Oraceion Seis to the east, so it was a sound answer on my behalf.)

I grinned at Sting. "The only male dragon slayer unaccounted for is Weisslogia's little brat; Sting Eucliffe! You, little one!"

Sting's eyes slowly began to widen and his mouth gaped open. He only attempted to close it when he spoke, eyes rather bright. "Y-You know my father? Weisslogia?"

"Personally?" I said rhetorically as I lowered him to the ground. "No. I don't know any of the dragons personally, nor all of the slayers. I've just built up a mental archive of all the dragon slayers and whatnot. I've known where all of them but you were for a while, so it's good to have you on my radar."

Sting turned away from me with a pout. "What if I don't want to be on your radar?"

I laughed. "How about you be in my house then?"

There was dead silence until…

"Are you trying to rape me?"

My right eye twitched uncontrollably. "…No, I'm not trying to rape you. All I'm offering is a place to live – since it's obvious you're homeless – and a new home in Fairy Tail."

A look of wonderment appeared on Sting's face. "Fairy Tail…? That's where Natsu-sama is!"

'Sama?' I thought to myself internally. 'God, please never let him say that in front of Natsu; it'll go straight to his head.'

Externally I gave Sting I bright smile. "Yeah! Natsu's my friend, actually, and I'm sure he would be happy to welcome another dragon slayer."

"You mean there's others there?" Sting asked, his little hands clenching in excitement. "Other slayers like me?"

"You bet," I responded. "Gajeel Redfox has joined Fairy Tail recently—"

When Sting made a face at the mention of Gajeel I couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, Gajeel isn't the greatest of guys, but, hey, he's nakama now, so it's kind of an obligation to at least attempt to like him."

It was clear that Sting wasn't being sold on the whole dragon slayer front, so I was quick to add on the existence of Ryos. "Gajeel and Natsu aren't the only dragon slayers there. In fact, the other one is about your age and is currently living with me. His name is Ryos."

"…He's my age?" Sting asked tentatively, tilting his head in a way that his untrimmed bangs fell into his eyes – God, I could cuddle him forever.

"Yeah," I said quickly before I could start cuddling him all over again, "he's your age and I'm sure he would love a friend!" I rubbed at my neck sheepishly, unsure of the next comment. "I'm sure he would like a brother, actually, and you really fit the quota."

Looking Sting right in those bright little eyes, I tried to muster up as much sincerity as I could in both my eyes and words. "Although my apartment is a bit small, and there would be no parents for you, I hope that you could come and try living with me and Ryos." I attempted a smile. "To become a Fairy Tail mage! And maybe even our little brother…"

I held my breath as Sting mulled over this onslaught of information, his eyebrows puckered slightly in concentration. Finally, he cocked his head to stare at me once more, lips twisted slightly into a pout. "For all I know, you could just be making this up."

Quickly I tugged at my shirt collar, dragging it down low enough to show the red Fairy Tail mark tattooed there.

When that cute look of wonder came back onto Sting's face, I cocked my eyebrow at him. "Do you believe me now?"

The boy was quick to reign in his amazement, pouting even harder at my amused look. "…I'll think about it…"

"Cool," I said back. "How about you think about it as we walk to Magnolia? If you don't like it, you can easily ditch and return back to your homeless lifestyle."

"Fine!" Sting shot back. "But first we need to pick up someone."

* * *

Unsurprisingly, the 'someone' we had to pick up was a young and utterly adorable Lector.

He was hidden in a plot of bushes just a few kilometres out of town alongside the beat up rucksack that held Sting's meagre possessions.

Initially Lector had leapt up and raced towards Sting at our arrival, but he was quick to come to a complete halt when he caught sight of me.

"Who's that, Sting-kun?" the little exceed asked, hesitance lacing itself through his voice. He ducked his head shyly as he finished scurrying over to hide behind Sting's leg, actively avoiding me.

"Lector, this is Lucy!" Sting had said proudly, like meeting me had been a marvellous achievement. "She's a Fairy Tail mage who's going to take us to her guild!"

I bowed to Lector in response, smiling slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet any friend of Sting. Especially one as cute as you, Lector."

If cat-like animals could blush, I'm sure Lector would've done so at the moment – the perks of possessing an incredibly attractive girls' body.

"I-It's a pleasure to meet you, Lucy-san!" Lector was quick to squeak out, sketching out a bow in the safety provided behind Sting's little leg.

Any hesitance I had towards housing these two melted at the Exceed's actions, and I couldn't help but let a goofy grin cross my face. I was quick to try and erase it, lest I blow my cool persona around Sting, but apparently the sight of it was enough to convince Lector that I wasn't going to suddenly eat him as he stepped out into the open.

This prompted Sting to dash off to quickly grab his rucksack, his skinny body all but vibrating with excitement. All the while he chattered away to Lector who, in turn, was staring open mouth at me.

"Lucy's going to get us into Fairy Tail!" Sting said excitedly as he dragged his pack over to drop it at my feet before bouncing off to check if he'd left anything behind. "Isn't that great, Lector?"

Lector was quick to look at Sting, surprise evident in his face. "But I thought you needed a home address to apply for a guild, Sting-kun?"

At hearing this, I casually inserted myself into the conversation by correcting the little guy. "Actually, Lector, you don't need a home address when you apply to Fairy Tail as Fairy Tail will _become _your home. That means the guild will help set you up with boarding if necessary, usually at a nearby apartment or even at the guild itself on a temporary basis."

"But we won't be needing that!" Sting exclaimed as he skidded to a halt in front of me. He gave Lector a reassuring grin. "Lucy here has offered us her place to stay – and there's another slayer boy who lives there, and is my age!"

Lector's face brightened in the wake of Sting's excitement, clearly happy to see his best friend so. "That's great, Sting-kun!" He then turned to me and gave me another bow. "Thank you very much, Lucy-san!"

"Oh, please," I said, "just call me Lucy. I much rather prefer that, if you'd please."

Lector grinned at me. "Okay, Lucy!"

"Enough talking!" Sting butted in, currently hoisting his bag in his hand. "Let's go!"

"Okay then," I replied back. I turned on my heel and began to lead the way back to Magnolia, but not before I plucked Sting's rucksack out of his hands and slung it over my shoulder.

When Sting protested, I merely gave him a quick shove to get moving and a promise to teach him some knife-throwing tricks along the way if he quit whining.

He stopped talking very shortly after that.

* * *

After a day and a half of traveling, only stopping for food – in which I showed Sting some nifty hunting tricks and he showed me some cool foraging ones –, to muck about with my knife and Sting's light magic – which was super cool to see in real life – as well as a great night's sleep in which we all slept in a pile under a tree, we finally arrived in Magnolia.

"So cool~!" both Sting and Lector said when we crested a hill and caught our first glimpse of the city.

Sting turned to me with excitement in his eyes, hands clutching an equally awed Lector to his chest. "It's huge! This whole place couldn't be Magnolia, could it?"

Chuckling slightly, I ruffled Sting's hair – another awesome perk to travelling with Sting was that the boy was more than ready to give and take physical affection whenever necessary. "You bet this whole place is Magnolia!" I gave the boy a swift pat on the head to finish before heading down towards the town. "This place is _home_."

Deciding to forgo the whole drama that was bound to ensure at Fairy Tail – as well as the responsibilities of helping to set up for the Harvest Festival that was beginning tomorrow – I led Sting and Lector through the busy and lively streets of Magnolia to head to my apartment.

I nearly thought their heads were going to break off during the course of our journey, what with the way they swivelled their heads back and forth to catch a glimpse at all the decorations that were going up.

I was pretty enthralled as well, never seeing Magnolia so dressed up – the blooming of the Rainbow Sakura was _way _low-key compared to this. But I kept my cool, content on holding onto whatever sense of awe Sting held for me before it was ruined by the likes of Happy and Natsu.

(Those two were _bound _to tell that embarrassing story of how one of Virgo's sudden appearances resulted in me screaming my head off, cracking a large portion of the bathtub, and ended with Ryos, Happy and Natsu seeing me come bolting out of the bathroom dripping wet and only wearing a hastily wrapped towel.

They told it every opportunity they could get.

Assholes.)

When we finally made our way to Strawberry Street – the adorable name of _my _street – I proudly led the way along the canal wall to my apartment, waving away the fishermen's usual concerned calls from the water.

"This is your house?" Sting asked when I came to a stop in front of the building, his eyes wide with awe once more. "It's so big!"

"Actually," I corrected as I gently took his hand and began leading him up the steps on the side of the building, "only the top floor is mine. This is an apartment complex, so I have to pay rent to a landlady and share the building with other people. But the landlady is rather lenient and my neighbours are really quite nice."

(And they were, I just didn't chat to them often. While I had an easy morning chat with Phil from the apartment below whenever Ryos and I walked to the guild in the morning, and he to his flower shop, I didn't interact much with the couple of Yama and Leiko next door, nor with whoever lived above them – I think he was a reclusive.)

"Oh," Sting said as we came to a stop in front of my door and I fumbled around in my pockets for my keys. "It still looks very nice though."

"I agree," Lector chimed in, his tiny form pressed against Sting's legs now. "Thank you again for inviting us here, Lucy."

As I inserted the key into its corresponding lock, I sent Lector a smile. "It's not a problem at all, Lector. Although I may have to do something about sleeping arrangements until I buy another bed or something, it's not at all a problem."

I wasn't offended when neither Sting nor Lector added anything to that string of conversation, as the two of them were too busy peering into the hallway of my apartment when I shoved it open.

"Welcome to mi casa," I said cheerfully as I ushered the two ahead of me and stepped through the doorway. "Population: one celestial mage and a dragon slayer. Soon to be two dragon slayers and his kitty partner hopefully."

"This is so cool…" Sting muttered under his breath as he cautiously shuffled his way into my open kitchen. He eyed up the scattering of completed job flyers and even a few photos of my nakama and I – all taken by Mirajane and presented by Elfman as a late introduction gift – that were plastered over my rather large fridge. "Interesting bunch of friends you have…"

Below him Lector pawed at a photo consisting of Natsu and Happy squishing their faces against mine as I looked up from a book in shock. "Is this the other cat you told me about? Happy?"

"Yeah," I said as I squatted down beside him and tapped at the photograph. "That's Happy, and that's Natsu beside him."

"There's so many of Natsu-sama!" Sting burst out, his hands fluttering in front of his face in barely contained excitement (and fanboying) as he stared at the photos. He then paused to look at me suspiciously. "Is Natsu-sama your boyfriend?"

While only a few weeks ago I would've spluttered and blushed at the comment – me with a boyfriend? – I was now a seasoned veteran when it came to ridiculous comments like that, mostly due to Cana and Mirajane's teasing. Mostly Mirajane.

"No," I said with only the tiniest trace of heat in my face. "He's not my boyfriend. Natsu's just a good friend."

Sting pointed to a photo taken of Gray making an ice statue in the recluse of my living room, with me watching intently beside him – courtesy of Levy, not like I knew it at the time. "Is he your boyfriend then?"

Recognising the stupid question game that _all _kids seemed to play (excluding Ryos, my brilliant little child), I was quick to squash it while it had only just begun to bloom. "That's Gray Fullbuster, my _friend. _I don't have any boyfriends. Or girlfriends," I tacked on hastily when I saw the sly look Sting cast towards a snapshot of Erza showing me a selection of desserts she loved and wished to educate me in - I hadn't heard of many of the dishes before, and apparently that was an offence to the redhead.

Slowly I began to point out each and every one of the people in the photographs, and it was during my explanation of Max's weirdarse relationship with one of the brooms in the guild storage room that my toilet flushed.

Sting and I shared a startled look, both of us shocked out of the atmosphere that the stories I had been telling formed.

"Ne, Lucy," Lector said hesitantly as he peered around the corner towards the bathroom. "Who else is meant to be in here right now."

I frowned. "It could be plenty of people – they all like to break and enter into my apartment, most in hopes of finding some weird lingerie stash—"

Here Sting made a face, and I couldn't help but mimic him. "I know; gross, right? But the most likely person is—"

As if perfectly timed, the bathroom door swung open and a familiar male stepped out, casually drying his hands on his shirt. When he finally looked up to catch sight of Lector peering around the wall, with Sting and I peeking from above him – like in some sort of tragic, comedy movie – he froze.

"Ryos," I finished.

Said boy blinked at me, his expression not unlike a deer caught in headlights. "Uh…"

"I'm home," I said sheepishly as I stepped out of the safety of the kitchen and skirted the couch to stand in front of the boy. "Did you miss me?"

At that, Ryos expression slowly changed from shocked to enraged. Just as I thought the boy would blow a valve what with how red he was going, he threw himself towards me with a shout, fists swinging. "YOU STUPID IDIOT!"

Completely frazzled by the break of character from the boy, I could only dumbly fend off his wild swings. "W-Woah! Ryos! What the hell?"

"'WHAT THE HELL?'" the boy screeched in anger, jumping up futilely to pound at my face – I once knew that feeling. "I SHOULD BE ASKING _YOU _THAT! YOU JUST STORMED OUT AND LEFT ME BEHIND! I THOUGHT I WAS BEING ABANDONDED ALL OVER AGAIN, DAMN YOU!"

"I'm sorry!" I wailed back, finally realising how my hasty retreat would've freaked out Ryos – the same Ryos who has severe abandonment issues after his dragon leaving him. "I won't do it again! I swear! I'm sorry otōto, forgive me!"

My apologies were enough to placate Ryos, as the boy stopped attempting to wallop me and instead began clutching at my waist desperately.

"Oh, dear," I whispered when I felt dampness begin to bleed through my shirt where Ryos's face was. "C'mere."

Slipping my arms beneath Ryos's arms I hoisted the boy into the air. In turn the dark-haired boy wrapped his arms around my neck and buried his face into the crook of it, his cold nose rubbing itself against the underside of my ear like usual.

Humming gently to soothe the boy, I began to rub gentle circles against his back and spin in soft circles. Although Ryos was hitting twelve – maybe, we weren't sure on his actual birthday, just like no one was sure of Natsu's or Gajeel's (if anyone besides Juvia and I cared about the latter) – the boy sometimes acted older or younger than his true age.

His maturity was evident when it was necessary or when he talked to someone of higher authority, but he was quick to become shy in the face of boisterous personalities, and while he wasn't a fan of displays of public affection, he was quite clingy in the confines of our apartment. He was also very prone to cry when things got emotional, such as now.

It was such a huge difference from the solemn and wise Rogue in the later time of the series, and it often sent me for a loop when I remembered that this small child was going to grow up to look like that Rogue.

(And also kind of disturbing because I loved like Ryos as a little brother now, but I'd always had a small crush on Rogue when I'd followed the series because…well, _damn._)

While Ryos began to calm himself down, I turned to Sting and Lector to mouth apologies.

The two looked highly uncomfortable as they hovered in the invisible boundary between kitchen and living room, but were quick to shake their heads silently in a way of dispersing my apologies.

I gave them a wry grin when Ryos let out a soft hiccup before going limp in my arms; a sign that he was ready to be put down.

He rubbed at his eyes when I gently placed him on the ground, looking embarrassed and small in one of my ratty t-shirts and what looked to be one of Gray's left over shorts held up by a belt. "Sorry, nee-chan."

"That's alright," I said patiently, "but are you up for meeting some new people?"

"No," Ryos said shortly, a pout working its way onto his face as he tucked his chin into the collar of his shirt. "No visitors."

"Maybe we should go then?" Sting awkwardly inputted, thumbing back towards the apartment door. "It seems like we came at a bad time." Lector nodded seriously by his feet.

Ryos swept his head towards them, taking in their appearance with wide eyes. He then whipped his head up to glare at me accusingly. "What the HELL, nee-chan?"

"Hey!" I raised my hands in a surrendering manner. "They came in with me! _You're _the one who didn't notice them."

That earned me a swift punch on the arm from Ryos – which didn't hurt, I swear! – before the boy was turning back to face Sting, embarrassment written clearly on his face. "H-Hello. Sorry about that…didn't think anyone was here."

Ever optimistic – and I mean _ever; _the kid didn't stop smiling for more than a few minutes – Sting was quick to flash the boy a bright grin. "'S okay! It's just super awesome to meet you!"

Flashing a quick look at me, Ryos politely returned the smile. "I'm guessing nee-chan's told you about me then?"

"Lucy's told us about a lot of the guild," Lector was quick to input, "but she told us more about you since we asked."

A startled look crossed Ryos's face when he took in the sight of yet _another _talking cat – if I could only hear his thoughts right now – before it changed to downright shocked when Sting launched himself forwards with open arms.

"You're a dragon slayer just like me!" the blonde shouted happily when he locked arms around Ryos, face nearly split in two from smiling.

Shooting me yet _another _shocked look, Ryos fumbled about with his surprise and arms before quickly abandoning all rational thought and hugging Sting back tentatively – that's my boy.

"You're a dragon slayer like me?" Ryos whispered quietly into Sting's ear, almost looking scared of the answer.

Drawing back from the hug but continuing to hold onto Ryos's shoulders, Sting beamed at him. "You bet'cha! My name's Sting Eucliffe, and I'm a White dragon slayer!"

A muffled and nervous giggle escaped Ryos's lips right before he smiled back. "My name's Ryos Cheney, and I'm a Shadow dragon slayer."

"That's awesome!" Sting exclaimed to the sound of Lector's excited cheers. "White and Shadow dragon slayers! Two opposites! It's like we were meant to meet!"

(I had to muffle nervous giggles of my own there; this whole situation was almost ridiculous.)

"Imagine if we could, like, choreograph our attacks!" Sting continued, his hype only continuing to build. "We could form an unstoppable team alongside my partner, Lector here!"

Then Ryos was exchanging greetings with Lector, the two almost in awe of meeting each other, and I was biting back squeals of delight or laughter, because despite all I'd changed, these two still found a way to each other.

(To reiterate Sting: it was like they were destined.)

"You three can form a team later," I finally said when the two boys and one exceed were getting worked up over the attacks they possessed. "For now, I think it's time to make some lunch."

Ryos's eyes glittered happily when he looked up at me. "You mean Sting and Lector are staying for lunch?"

"Well," I said as I lowered myself to Ryos's level, "Sting and Lector can stay as long as they want, if you're all happy with that. I've offered for them to come and live here so that they can join Fairy Tail. You guys can be like brothers!"

Grinning madly, Ryos turned to Sting. "You can stay!" His expression then shifted to a pleading one as he grasped at the other boy's shirt. "Oh, please stay! I want both you and Lector to stay with us, so we can form a team, and learn cool slayer skills, and eat nee-chan's food. If that doesn't persuade you, I'll give you the biggest slice of nee-chan's apple pie every time! Anything for you to stay!"

"You want me to stay?" Sting asked tentatively, almost scared to hope. He grabbed at Lector's paw, both of them looking at Ryos with bright eyes. "You want both me an' Lector?"

"Forever!" Ryos exclaimed. "I want us to be brothers!"

Without another word, Sting launched himself forwards to wrap Ryos up in another hug. He clung tightly to the other boy as Lector joined him in the hug, all of them teary-eyed and blissfully happy.

"Now you're all my foolish, little otōto's," I said fondly before swooping into to wrap them all up in my long arms.

Ryos mewled out a happy "Nee-chan!" that was swiftly echoed by Sting and Lector, which just made me cling tighter to them all.

"My little otōto's," I murmured before pressing soft kisses into their hair.

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

After the little family bonding moment, Lucy was quick to usher off her three charges towards the kitchen to make some lunch.

It was a messy affair, but highly enjoyable for all four participants who were still high on life. They worked together and around each other to create dishes to Lucy's instructions, and soon they were all sitting down at Lucy's little kitchen table to eat.

While the boys excitedly traded tips and observations about their magic as Lector listened in, Lucy was busy mentally going over what needed to be done to induct two more people into her life.

While no paperwork was necessary for Lector – being an unidentified and rare species of magical creature with no human properties either than speech – there were all sorts of forms Lucy would have to fill out in order to get Sting into her care.

Luckily she already had practise with Ryos, and Levy would surely be more than happy to help out her friend if needed.

Legal issues aside, there was a matter of getting Sting and Lector inducted into Fairy Tail – not a pressing matter at the moment – as well as getting basic essentials for them. Clothes could easily be borrowed from or made by Lucy's spirits, but Lucy had more than enough money squirrelled away that such actions weren't really necessary.

Then it would be a matter of reorientating herself and Ryos to accommodate two more persons, and that meant matters of bedding would have to be discussed. It was either Lucy slept on the couch, or she bought herself a small cot to shove in the corner to sleep in. Perhaps a hammock would be good?

(Thoughts about Natsu and Happy's nightly visits were quickly discarded, as Lucy only had enough time, patience and room to think about those who would be properly living in her apartment.)

Maybe she needed to buy a new apartment? Something big enough to hold two growing dragon slayers and their feline partner; as well as whoever decided to visit that day.

Perhaps buying a new house would be the way to go?

"What's with that frown, nee-chan?" Sting asked around a mouthful of one of his sandwiches, obviously already comfortable in adopting the elder sister term for Lucy. "You're going to give yourself wrinkles."

"Or a stroke," Ryos added absently.

The female blonde rolled her eyes in answer. "I'm not going to have a stroke, and I'm not old enough for wrinkles – no matter what you brats say. I'm just thinking of our sleeping arrangements."

"Oh, that's easy," Ryos said casually. "We'll all just sleep in the bed together. It's more than big enough for all of us."

"Well, yes," Lucy agreed hesitantly, "but you guys are growing boys; do you really want to share the bed with the likes of me? I mean, most kids your age want beds of their own."

Sting and Ryos exchanged looks as Lector shrugged between them. They then turned back to Lucy.

"We're fine with sharing," Ryos said.

"I've shared with Sting-kun since I met him," Lector offered, "so I don't mind sleeping with others."

Sting offered Lucy a lopsided grin, sauce smeared across his cheeks. "'Sides, it'll keep us nice and warm. Dragons like their heat, you know?"

Lucy sighed; she knew all too well about dragon slayers and their need for warmth. She lived with one and the other practically slept over at her place every second night. "If you're absolutely sure…"

The three males gave sharp nods. _"We're sure!"_

"Now that that's sorted," Lucy began as she absently wiped the sauce from Sting's face with a cloth. "What is it you boys want to do this afternoon?"

"JOIN FAIRY TAIL!" Sting yelled out excitedly, bouncing in his seat as he waited for Lucy to finish cleaning his face. "We gotta do it right away! I don't think I can wait!"

At hearing his request, Lucy dropped her hand from his face and began to wring the cloth nervously between her fingers. She didn't want to go anywhere near the mess she'd more than likely left behind at the guild, and it was plain to see when she didn't answer with proper words. "Uh…Um…"

"Please?" Sting said, jutting out his bottom lip. "Pretty please?"

When Lucy continued to look conflicted, Sting upped the pout to a fully-fledged, begging puppy dog look. This prompted Lector to join in – knowing the game very well due to the amount of times the duo had conned people out of food and money with just their cuteness – and shortly after, Ryos.

The combined force of the puppy dog eyes – much stronger than what she had ever gotten from Natsu – was more than enough to shatter any last reluctances Lucy had about going to her guild.

"Alright," she sighed in defeat, "we'll go to the guild."

The three males cheered in celebration, throwing their hands into the air like the children they were.

"But first," Lucy interjected sternly into their happiness, "we clean up after ourselves."

"_Right, nee-chan!"_

* * *

**MOMMA!TIA ANYONE? Gods she is so fun to write as Momma!Tia with Sting and Ryos. It was brilliant to show how much she has to restrain herself from hugging them and never letting them go as they're TOO PRECIOUS FOR THIS WORLD! CUTE, LITTLE CINNAMON ROLLS!**

**Anyways, so I was going to continue until I started the whole battle shindig, but **_**meh. **_**My work got deleted so many times by my faulty computer that I just gave up. This also seemed like a good time to stop.**

**BUUUTTTTT BEFORE YOU GO…..**

_**HEADCANNON TIME!**_

_**-Lucy stress cooks. When she's stressed, she heads to her kitchen and starts whipping up meals from whatever ingredients she has in her fridge and pantry.  
The dishes are usual foreign dishes from her old world (mostly leaning towards Thai and Indian as that's her favourite cuisines), and have become popular around the guild.  
It's actually quite well-known now throughout the guild that Lucy's a good cook. Maybe not Mirajane standard, but still pretty good. Everyone has had a taste of her cooking due to the platters of food she brings in every time she stress cooks, as she usually doesn't eat the food herself.  
She's made dozens of dishes ever since she returned from her super-secret mission, and that was one of the more telling signs to the others of her levels of stress.**_

_**-Natsu and Happy are incredibly photogenic. Like, ridiculously. If there's a photo, they're in it. And as soon as someone brings a camera into the guild they'll snatch it up and start taking photos of e**_**verything. **_**To placate them Mira merely takes plenty of photos with them in it. Since she was making a small portfolio of photos for Lucy, the two of them feature in most of the photos.  
Usually with a shocked or awkwardly smiling Lucy.**_

_**-All of Lucy's spirits have learnt not to mention any of the 'bad' missions to their summoner. They won't bother her with questions or surprise summon themselves, as Lucy is usually very jumpy for days after a horrible mission.  
But at night some of them will summon themselves to watch over Lucy whenever Natsu isn't there – to comfort her and keep her safe.  
Lyra started it, and Loke is the newest addition to the nightly activity.  
Those two spirits have become rather close due to their extreme fondness and protectiveness over Lucy, much like Lyra's relationship with Andromeda or Cenas.**_

_**-Ryos is a sook when it comes to physical affection from Lucy. He doesn't really like anyone else coming near him with hug or hair ruffles, but whenever the two get home, have dinner and are ready for bed, Lucy will sit down to read a book and Ryos will always clamber into her lap for cuddles. Or, even better, he will lay his head in her lap and she'll pet his hair.**_

_**-Ryos's hair is quite thick and long, but incredibly glossy and healthy. He likes his hair, and dreams that one day he'll grow it long enough to get it into a ponytail.  
His hair right now can be half-pulled up into a tiny ponytail, but it isn't long enough to be plaited at all – much to both Lucy and Ryos's sadness.**_

_**-You need a home address to join a guild usually. That's one of the many reasons Fairy Tail has been considered barbaric over the years; they just take homeless kids in all the time and claim Fairy Tail is their home.  
This adds an unreasonable amount of stress to the people who have to deal with all of the legal paperwork's linked up with guilds. They cry when they see the Fairy Tail stamp on envelopes or packages.**_

_**-Ryos, for all the clothes he's given by Lucy and the other girls of the guild, barely bothers to wear anything either than Lucy's own t-shirts and whatever shorts he previously owned. He doesn't feel comfortable in the newly bought clothes as the smell irritates his nose and the fabric feels itchy. **_

_**-He always wears Lucy's baggy t-shirts with her scent all over them as it reassures him that Lucy won't abandon him, even if she isn't there beside him physically.**_

_**-Lucy is currently sketching some designs of clothing for Lyra and Virgo to help create out of comfortable material from their home world. She is using mostly blacks and silvers, and Ryos has no idea about her project.**_

**Okay, so I might do headcannon's occasionally, to tell y'all about in background things that I can't work into the story.**

**As an extra since it'll be my birthday in a few days and I'm in the need for some ridiculous Natsu and Tia antics…**

**Omake! It's of that horribly teasing episode in which Natsu seems like he's asking Lucy on a date but it turns out he wants Virgo to dig up something. **

**TIA STYLE!**

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

"Ne, Lucy!"

Glancing up from the book I was currently reading – a study of the planets and how their position in the sky can affect magic – I raised a questioning brow at a clearly excited Mirajane. "Yes, Mira? What seems to be the problem?"

"Oh," the older girl sighed as she leaned on the table I was at, one hand cradling her pretty face. "It's not really a problem. It's just an oddity, really."

"An oddity?" I repeated blankly. "In Fairy Tail? I just can't seem to believe that, Mira."

Mirajane giggled and slapped my arm playfully. "Always the joker."

After internally questioning that statement – I was never called a joker. Never. Sarcastic, little shit maybe, but not joker – I politely queried about the oddity, if only to appease Mirajane.

"Well," the barmaid whispered, leaning in like what she was going to say was a huge secret. "It's Natsu. You see, everyone seems to be mentioning a girl he's looking for. He's saying stuff like 'I really need her! Right now!' That sort of stuff, you know?"

"Mmmm," I said noncommittedly, trying to figure out if this was a part of the series. While I hadn't been an absolutely rabid fan of Fairy Tail, I did greatly enjoy the series and the accompanying omakes that came with it. It was only a matter of going over those episodes and chapters mentally before I was suddenly hit with the memory of a particular episode.

I remembered clearly the episode that was set up to seem like the beginning on NaLu. That terribly trashy and embarrassing episode in which Mirajane prods Lucy into thinking Natsu likes her and wants to see her when, in fact, all he wants is Virgo so that he may dig up an old box containing embarrassing photos of his nakama.

That was probably the episode where I began to low-key ship those two together, but since I was here and not Lucy…Mirajane couldn't possibly think that there was even a chance that Natsu liked me?

I mean, although I possessed Lucy's beautiful body, I didn't wear nice clothes to accentuate it. In fact, I wore crappy clothes and chest bindings to make the body seem less appealing to those who would desire it; both male and female.

My personality was frigid at best most of the time, and I was only minutely better than Lucy when it came to dealing with Natsu's stupidity. Actually, I was probably worse as I didn't indulge him in reactions, I just usually ignored his stupidity and hoped it would go away shortly.

So, yeah, there was definitely no way that Natsu would have any interest in me.

No way at all.

"I think Natsu likes you."

If I had any liquid in my mouth, I would've spat it out in surprise at Mirajane's casual comment. Even as it was I did a double-take and nearly choked on my own saliva.

When I finally recovered, I gaped openly at Mirajane with what I felt to be flushed cheeks and ears. "W-What the hell, Mirajane? Natsu does not like me! He's like, asexual, and I'm undesirable."

"Oh, Lucy," Mirajane tittered as she took a seat next to me. "You're not undesirable. You're incredibly beautiful, smart and strong. Any man would be lucky to have you! Several men already desire you."

"Wakaba and Macao don't count as men," I muttered back, feeling my blush begin to spread further across my cheeks. "They're perverts."

"Okay," Mirajane said easily as she put an arm around me, "I didn't mean them. But haven't you seen the looks you get in the street? Both men and women double-take when they see you walking by, you're that beautiful!"

Liking my lips nervously, I averted my gaze away from Mirajane's honest blue eyes. "Yeah, but they simply like my body. They wouldn't like the soul that's in the body."

It was true. Who would actually like a murdering, criminal body-snatcher? Not me for certain. So who would actually wish to engage in a romantic relationship with a train wreck like me?

Thin fingers gripped the side of my face to draw me out of my thoughts and back to face Mirajane's uncharacteristically serious gaze.

"Lucy," the girl began, "you are a beautiful girl inside and out. You're kind and sweet when needed, and more than patient when it comes to life and its hardships. You cry for all the right reasons, and smile with the force of the sun. You're willing to take a bullet for someone you love—"

I couldn't help but think 'More like a knife, but whatever.'

"—And if someone thinks that you're undesirable because of that," Mirajane finished with a fierce expression on her face, "then they'll have to say that to _**my **_face! Because we all love you here in Fairy Tail, and anyone who deserves out love deserves to be happy romantically and with themselves."

An odd sensation of warmth built up in my chest after hearing and seeing how honest Mirajane was – she thought _I _was beautiful! Me, Tia! Not just Lucy's body! I gave Mirajane a crooked smile in response, barely bothering to care about the blush that was smeared about my face. "Thanks, Mira. You don't know how much it means to hear that."

Standing up, the barmaid gave me a loving peck on the forehead before slipping away to head towards the bar. "Anytime, Lucy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some rambunctious boys to feed." She turned to give me a saucy wink. "And you have a certain rambunctious boy to think about."

My blush flared up again at her words, and I was quick to hide it behind my book. The damn thing didn't go away for a long time after that, and just when I thought I'd got it in control Natsu decided to pop up.

And, of course, like in the episode, he _dared _to look somewhat cute and shy as he turned his head into his scarf, scratched at his cheek and _blushed._

No male should blush like that! Not with the whole-! URGH!

Due to me voicing my thoughts mentally in an agonising scream of frustration, I nearly missed Natsu fumbling queries as to whether I was free tonight.

I stared at him blankly, ears still hot. "…What?"

Frustration built up on Natsu's face and he gestured helplessly, blush only intensifying. "Can you just meet me by the tree near—"

"I know where," I inputted dumbly. "Can you just tell me why you're blushing so much? It's making me nervous."

As per usual when he was put on the spot, Natsu was quick to splutter and try and turn the focus back onto the questioner; namely me in this instance. "Why are _you _blushing so much? It's making _me _nervous."

"I'm blushing because you're blushing!" I protested. "It's weird seeing you blush and it's _freaking me out._"

"I'm not trying to blush!" Natsu snapped back, flinging his arms out to display how large his frustration was getting. "But your face isn't helping!"

"Fuck it!" I finally snapped out, slamming my book down on the table and standing up to face Natsu. "This isn't getting us anywhere! I'll just summon Virgo and we can do the thing now, okay?"

That seemed to snap Natsu out of his funk, and he gave a cheer before snagging my arm and dragging me towards the door. "C'mon! This will be hilarious! I'll even share the booty with you!"

"I expect you to," I replied crankily, "it's my spirit doing most of the work."

Natsu ignored that, too busy dragging me off towards where the box was buried.

* * *

Three hours later Virgo was dismissed back to the Spirit World and both Natsu and I were proud owners of a collection of horribly embarrassing photos.

"This one's going up on my fridge," I said proudly as I held a photo of a young Gray dressed up in one of Levy's dresses, pouting heavily. "Definitely the centrepiece."

Natsu leant his head against mine as he tried to get a good look at the photo. It was clear he liked what he saw when he began to cackle, his body vibrating against mine. "Oh man, that's brilliant! I'd totally forgot about that one!"

Handing him the photo to study closer (and laugh over even more), I knelt forwards to begin foraging through the box nestled in the grass at our feet. We'd elected on staying beneath the tree the box had been buried under, taking advantage of the peace provided by the quiet area.

Pulling out another photo and leaning back to nestle against Natsu once more, I studied it closer before bursting into wild giggles.

That brought Natsu's attention right to the photo, and he let out an indignant squawk in seeing it. "What the HELL? When was that taken?"

"When you were younger, obviously," I said between giggles. "Look at you, you're so cute."

Indeed, younger Natsu was adorable as he pouted and scrubbed at an equally discouraged Gray's back. The two of them were naked, but soapy enough to not show anything to the photograph as they sat in what looked like an onsen. Behind Natsu was a little Erza clothed in a towel, who was happily smiling as she scrubbed Natsu's back with a brush.

"Fridge," was all I said before I tucked the photo away into one of my pockets. "Definitely fridge."

Natsu let out a howl of protest at that, and attempted to grab at me, clearly intent on getting the photo back by force.

Swiftly ducking the swipe and rolling away, I popped to my feet and snatched up the box before legging it out of there.

I could hear Natsu scrambling to his feet before taking chase behind me, and I couldn't help the nervous and excited giggle that escaped my lips as I sprinted away from him.

* * *

It took us two hours to finish the impromptu game of chase back at my apartment, where I packed away the box for safekeeping, thanking every god that Natsu had forgotten about the embarrassing bath photo during our chase.

(That damn thing was going to be glued to the fridge and charmed by Levy so that it couldn't be removed or damaged by magic.)

We then crashed on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate each and traded stories of our travels for the rest of the night.

And well into it as well, the two of us falling asleep where we sat.

I only awoke during the early hours of my sleep cycle to see Natsu removing my empty mug of hot chocolate and placing it alongside his onto the table. He then stood up and picked me up along the way, cradling my limp form in his arms as he made his way over to the bed.

The dragon slayer easily cradled me to his chest with one arm as he pulled back the blanket on my bed. He then slid me under the blanket and against the wall – where I felt safest – before jumping in beside me.

He only paused to unwind his scarf and remove his waistcoat to place carefully on the floor by the bed before he was slumping down to sleep with a sigh.

Keeping my eyes open a crack, I watched as Natsu's own gently fluttered before sliding shut. When I was sure that he was half-asleep, I scooted closer to fling my arm over him in a half-hearted hug. "Thank you, Natsu," I breathed under my breath before attempting to sleep."

"No problem, Luce," was all I heard before I slipped under.

* * *

**Extra Omake: Time skip back to the awkward blushing moment:**

Silence fell across the guild when Natsu and Lucy finally exited after their embarrassing blushing scene.

"What the hell," Gray said into the silence. "I didn't know Natsu could blush."

"Who gives a crap about that," Cana was quick to interject. "Did anyone hear what Lucy said? 'I'll just summon Virgo and we can do the thing now'! Didn't realise those two were up to doing the thing!"

"Or how about Natsu offering to 'share the booty'?" Macao guffawed. "Virgo's booty to be exact!"

"Those two _were _awfully excited to exit the guild," Bisca mused. "You guys don't think…? With all three…? I mean, spirit and human relationships are _illegal_…"

There was a moment as everyone in the guild merely glanced at each other. Suddenly…

"I'M REOPENING THE NATSU AND LUCY LOVE BET!" Cana called out. "Place your wagers here!"

A vast majority of the guild swarmed towards the brunette to place bets on when the two would get together, Mirajane leading the charge.

(If the guild was slightly awkward around Lucy and Natsu for a few days after that, neither of the two mentioned it. Thankfully.)

* * *

**Okayyyyy! Done! Enjoy it!**

**AND SOMEONE PLZ GIVE ME FANART! IM NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO DRAW MY BABY TIA AND HER BEAUTIFUL BABY BOYS SO PLZ SEND HELP!**


	22. Just get to the point!

**Okay, wow. I did NOT realise how long it's been since I've updated this story. I really do have a lot of brilliant ideas for this story, I swear, it's just that I don't really like Fairy Tail anymore. Harsh but true. I haven't seen a single episode in since that filler arc with the spirits, let alone read a chapter in months. I've just moved onto bigger and better things (in my eyes, at least), namely Gravity Falls, Miraculous Ladybug and Steven Universe! I'm a mad cartoon fan now, and the slow and stretched out style of anime just gets me bored now.**

**It'll definitely be a struggle to get back into my characters and the members of the actual show, so bear with me guys. And if Lucy's return seems a bit melodramatic and Marysue-ish then I apologise slightly, but please remember that Fairy Tail is a guild that runs practically on emotion, and Lucy has been there long enough that her dramatic escape seriously had her friends worried. Plus, FT is known to be very dramatic about their nakama.**

**In other news, though, there is a new cover photo for this story! It is from the lovely Shadowecreeper, who designed it and another drawing that I have kept safe in my picture library; throw your love their way, guys! They nagged and prodded me into doing this chapter when I was so intent on never addressing it again. Cheers friend!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own this show. If I did, I'd actually know what was going on right now in it._

**Warning: **_#prayforSunny#thisstorywillbethedeathofme#fuck#howdoyouwriteagain?#thereisblood#itwouldn'tbeoneofmystoriesiftherewasn't#Lucybeingalittleshit#thischapterisreallycheesy#clicheshit_

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

"Please let this be easy," Lucy muttered to herself as she approached the open doors to the Fairy Tail guild, nerves making the lunch she had eaten recently flop about in her stomach. If her hands weren't currently occupied in holding onto one of Sting and Ryos's she would be wringing them in worry, that's how distressed she was.

"It'll be fine," Ryos said encouragingly to the girl, his sharp teeth bared in a chipper smile. "Everyone realised how much in the wrong they were and they all just want to apologise to you! You just have to forgive them and move on!"

Lucy laughed nervously, pulling the two boys and accompanying talking cat to the side of the guild entrance. "I wish it was that easy, Ryos, but I was in the wrong too. I did some bad things and now I'm just stressed out about their reactions."

In response to her worries Sting rolled his eyes and gave a short tug at her left hand. "Well, you won't gain their forgiveness by standing around looking dumb. Let's hurry up and go in!"

Before Lucy could begin to protest – she wasn't mentally ready yet, damn it – Sting was surging forwards with Lector by his side, dragging Lucy and Ryos in behind him as he did so. However, the sheer size and grandeur of the building – having been fixed up and improved upon in the aftermath of the Phantom Lord attack – brought Sting to an awe-filled standstill once he actually entered the guild.

This abrupt stop in motion brought a stumbling Lucy crashing into the younger mage, her other hand dragging Ryos right into the collision as well. The three fell to the wooden floorboards in a heap with a loud crash, making Lector – who was smart and small enough to duck his way out of the collision – flinch back from the sound.

"Ow," whined Sting from his crumpled position against Ryos in Lucy's arms, the girl having managed to take the impact due to her honed reflexes. "That really hurt!"

"You can't complain," Ryos grumbled as he attempted to peel his cheek off of Sting's, "you're the one who caused this." The dark-haired boy wasn't very happy about being dragged into the fall and was now trying his best to wriggle out of it. "Lucy-nee, you can let go of us now."

"Don't be grateful then, you little punks," Lucy said without malice as she let go of the boys and allowed them to be clamber off of her, Sting instantly being checked over by a worried Lector.

Just as Lucy was about to join the two in a standing position she happened to remember the current setting of their literal downfall.

Her expression was almost ridiculously comical as she lifted her head to see the entire Fairy Tail guild staring at her with slightly stunned expressions.

"Uh…" Lucy began, beginning to clamber to her feet, "Hi?"

That seemed to break the spell that had been cast over the guild, and Natsu led the charge towards the blonde with a gleeful roar of "LUCY'S HOME!"

A startled squeak escaped Lucy's lips as Natsu scooped her up off the ground with barely any effort and lifted her over his head like a trophy. He spun around to showcase her to the crowd that was collecting around them, ignoring the way that she wriggled about in protest.

"Glad to have you back," Gray said up to the girl with a grin, crossing his arms across his bare chest in an effort to seem cool and collected after all of the stress he'd felt at his friend leaving.

"You had us worried, Lu-chan!" Levy piped up, reaching up with one of her tiny hands to grasp one of Lucy's dangling calloused ones.

Next to her Erza gave a sharp nod of agreement. "Yes, you did. Please do not do something like that again."

"Oh, it was all of my fault!" Mirajane said next, hands clasped to her chest as her teary eyes locked with Lucy's own watering ones. "I'm so sorry, Lucy!"

The pitiful expression on Mirajane's face broke any restraint Lucy had attempted to keep a hold of her emotions and she practically fell out of Natsu's arms to hug Mirajane. The two began to cry in earnest as they apologised to each over and over, breaths hiccupping and cracking as they did so.

The moment was more than enough to set Elfman off, and he too began to cry as he dragged the two girls into a crushing embrace. His actions caused Lucy's sobs to turn to laughter, her smile still visible as she placed her face against Elfman's chest and attempted to wrap one of her arms around him as the other continued to cling to Mirajane.

"Group hug!" Cana slurred out, one hand clutching at a half-empty bottle of wine as she flung herself into the embrace.

With a cheer the guild folded into a group hug, no one too sure of who they were clutching but not minding a single bit.

"Is this common?" Sting asked Ryos as the two boys and Lector stood off to the side to watch the proceedings.

"Pretty much," Ryos replied with a dry tone. "Fairy Tail are always a dramatic bunch and I'm sure someone is going to call for a party soon; it's just what they do whenever something goes right."

As if on cue, a yell of "PARTY!" prompted the group hug to break apart and scatter into an excited group of mages intent on setting up a brilliant party to celebrate the occasion.

"Called it," Ryos remarked.

The next few hours was a blur of cheerful partying, roughhousing, tearful apologies and introductions to the excited Sting and Lector.

The two were almost completely overwhelmed by the reality that was Fairy Tail; bright and colourful people who seemed downright proud and ecstatic about having a new Dragon Slayer in the guild. People lined up to greet Sting and his friend Lector, and many playfully praised Lucy on 'her cute, new kid.'

To her credit, Lucy didn't flush too badly at the comments, merely smiling proudly at the easy way Sting assimilated himself and Lector into the guild. Even Gajeel's gruff introduction and sneering comments didn't deter the boy at all. If anything, meeting Gajeel himself seemed like a highlight to the boy – he spent a fair few minutes gushing over the older male and his reputation, which led to a surprised Gajeel responding to it with an almost kind disposition. At least, what equalled as 'kind' to Gajeel.

"There's going to be no more room for me at your place anymore," Happy whined to Lucy during a lull in the party, the two of them perched on the bar's benchtop to survey their surroundings. "You're going to collect so many kids that Natsu and I won't be able to get through the window."

Lucy laughed at that, reaching over to grab Happy in a playful hug. "Then I guess you will have to come through the door like normal people. Besides," she continued as she placed Happy in her lap and began to gently groom him with her fingers, "I think this will be the last one."

Granted, the idea of bringing Wendy into her household when she joined the guild had crossed her mind, but Lucy knew that the girl would flourish more under the girl's tutelage in Fairy Hills. Living with such strong, independent women would do Wendy a lot of good, and Lucy knew that Carla would keep an eye on her anyways.

"Whatever you say, weirdo," Happy said dubiously as he preened underneath Lucy's attention.

"Why's Lucy a weirdo now?" Natsu asked suddenly as he wandered over to jump up next to Lucy, his long legs nearly brushing the ground. "She's always a weirdo though…"

"Hardy-har," Lucy barked out sarcastically, "you're bloody hilarious."

"I know," Natsu replied with a grin, clearly not catching the sarcasm, or just turning it in his favour. "You missed my humour, didn't you?"

Lucy rolled her eyes in response, but she visibly tensed up at the mention of her short trip. "You wish. The silence was pretty good, actually…"

When she received no reply, she glanced up at Natsu's face, only to see him frowning right back at her. She blinked uneasily, hands clutching at Happy. "What? What is it?"

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened on that mission?" Natsu asked abruptly, not seeing the point in dancing around the subject anymore.

A flinch rocked Lucy's body, and Happy tensed up on her lap in response. "Lucy…"

"No," the girl said quietly, ignoring Happy's imploring eyes. "I don't think I…I don't think I actually _can. _What I did…It was unforgivable…If you knew what I did, you would change your mind about me, and it may be selfish but…I don't want anything to change between us. Between anyone in this guild and I.…  
I want to continue laughing with everyone without it seeming forced. I want to sit with you guys and fell comfortable, and to not think about the things I've done…Being in this guild is easier than breathing at times and I-I don't want to lose that."

"You know you wouldn't," Natsu replied, his eyes still trained on the girl before him. "You're our nakama, and nakama don't turn their back on each other. No matter what you do, we'll always be there for you, okay?" He broke out into a grin and nudged Lucy roughly, making the girl look back at him with a crinkle across her nose. "Besides, I need someone to get a reaction out of. Gray is a prat and all, but his reactions aren't has hilarious as yours."

"Jerk," Lucy snorted in reply, shoving back at him. "Maybe now I won't introduce your biggest fan to you; I don't think you deserve it!"

Almost instantly Natsu lit up, his eyes widening and glittering in the light. "I have a fan! Awesome! Who is it?"

In response, Lucy cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted out to the spiky mop of blonde hair she could just see in the crowd of females cooing over him. "Sting! Come over here! There's someone I want you to meet!"

Sting managed to wriggle his way out of Laki's clinging arms – he was an almost instant hit with the ladies of the guild, what with his cute looks and polite attitude when needed; much like Ryos when he first joined – and came scampering over with Lector and Ryos – both who hadn't left his side at all – following closely behind him.

When the blond caught sight of who was sitting next to Lucy, however, his happy expression turned to one of pure excitement and nervousness. He tripped and stumbled the last few metres to Lucy's side, Ryos laughing behind him.

"Natsu," Lucy said when Sting stopped beside her, practically vibrating from excitement as he gazed at his confused idol with adoration. "This here is Sting. He is the White Ddragon sSlayer and a huge fan of yours. The cat by his feet is Lector, and he is his best friend. Please be kind to them."

"I can't believe it!" Sting squeaked out, his hands clasped together in front of him to stop himself from grabbing at Natsu. "You're Natsu Dragneel! The powerful Fire dDragon sSlayer! You're so amazing! Is it true that you managed to destroy a total of twenty towns since you joined Fairy Tail? How about…"

While Sting babbled to Natsu – who bathed in the praise and took every chance to pose and talk himself up – Lector steadfastly introduced himself to a very surprised Happy who escaped Lucy's lap to say hello down on the ground.

"You're a talking cat like me!" Happy said eloquently as he pointed and gawked at Lector. "And you wear clothes!"

"I-Is that a problem?" Lector replied hesitantly, shrinking slightly under Happy's accusing paw.

"Of course it isn't," Ryos inputted as he crouched down to the cats' level. "You look very handsome in clothing, Lector. It's just that Happy doesn't really like wearing clothes all the time."

"I'm a free talking cat," Happy said proudly, "I don't need clothes to make me seem human! But," he quickly added on as he looked Lector in the eyes, "you look really cool in yours!"

Lector visibly brightened up. "You think so!"

When Happy agreed, it was clear a new friendship had been founded, and the two happily scampered off to pilfer some fish from Mirajane and chat.

"Are you feeling better, Lucy-nee?" Ryos asked the blonde as he nestled against the girl, his head pressed against her side. "You were worrying so much, and it all turned out alright."

Lucy smiled down at the boy, fingers threading their way through his lengthening hair. "You were right, Ryos-kun, I shouldn't have worried so much. I'm just so glad that things turned out so well."

Ryos took stock of the party that was going on around them, and the destruction that was occurring to the guild at the same time. He smiled. "Me too."

* * *

**Lucy P.O.V.**

"No," I said stoutly, crossing my arms across my chest. "There's no way I'm going to do it, and you can't make me, Mirajane."

Said girl pouted from her perch behind the bar, her hair bristling slightly in mock irritation. "C'mon, Lucy. It's a great idea! Think of the money you could get out of it; enough to feed those boys of yours for a few months."

"More like weeks," I muttered, thinking forlornly about the amount of jewels that were currently being demolished by Ryos and Sting's hungry stomachs. "But that doesn't matter. I don't feel comfortable standing up on any kind of stage, let alone performing for the Miss Fairy Tail contest in front of a huge crowd."

Mirajane continued to pout at me as she scrubbed at a glass. "I've heard you play the lyre with Lyra and you two sounded really good! Didn't you mention that Cancer can also play the piano? You could easily perform a number with your spirits and it'd be brilliant!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I said dryly as I picked at the lunch set out in front of me, "but it's not going to happen. Sorry."

A dejected sigh escaped Mirajane's lips, but she still managed to give me a sweet smile. "I know not to push you into something you're not comfortable, Lucy, so I'll let this be. It's just that almost every other girl in the guild is going to perform, and it's a way to get your name out there – not like you really need it, 'Celestial Maiden'!"

I managed a laugh at Mirajane's sly wink at the end of her sentence. "I might think about it, Mira. For now, though, I think I'll grab an easy mission for the boys and I. Sting's really excited about heading out, and I don't think I can take much more of his begging."

"Alright then!" Mirajane replied cheerfully as she started to clear up my plate. "Have fun and stay safe!"

"Always," I said before giving her a wave and went off to find Sting, Lector and Ryos – who were probably mucking about with Natsu, knowing Sting and his tendency to rope Ryos into his antics.

Perhaps entering the contest would be a good idea. I knew that there was no way that anyone would win the competition, what with Laxus swooping in to fuck things up, but if I came on the same time as Lucy I would be more than close enough to kick in Evergreen's teeth…

The more I thought about it, the smarter the plan was.

The bonus was that Evergreen would interrupt before I had to perform! Genius!

Suddenly excited about the prospect of kicking the ass of such a powerful mage in the guild, I raced ahead to snatch up my boys on a mission – no doubt the 'easy' mission would turn into another crazy adventure if Natsu and Happy decided to tag along. Ah well, I was used to it now.

Just another day in my new life.

* * *

When D-day rolled around, I was more than ready for what lay ahead. I had kitted myself up in my usual battle garb (much to a few of my friend's confusion) and had both my sword and keys on hand for when shit got real. In addition to that, I had Ryos, Sting and Lector sitting in on the contest; they would be trapped in the guild for a while, much like Natsu and Gajeel, and at least then I knew they were safe. It would mean I could focus everything I had on the battles that lay ahead, rather than on protecting my boys.

Now I was merely waiting for my turn on stage, anxiety and excitement causing my stomach to curl and roll uncomfortably.

"Is Lucy-san nervous?" Juvia suddenly asked as she came to stand by my side, the two of us peeking out from the curtains to stare out at the gathering crowd. The Miss Fairy Tail contest was apparently a lot more popular than the two of us newbies had expected, and now that we were about to kick start the event, both Juvia and I were beginning to get nervous. Just for different matters, that was all. Mostly.

"Yeah," I said shakily to Juvia as I anxiously tugged at the hem of my leather vest. "I'm a bit nervous." '_About the battle ahead and how I could screw up,'_ I continued in my head, managing to smile at Juvia. "We'll be fine though. I bet you'll be brilliant."

"Thank you, Lucy-san," Juvia said as she bashfully ducked her head. "I just hope Gray-sama will like my performance!"

I placed a comforting hand on her thin shoulder. "I'm sure he will."

My words were more than enough to send Juvia off into a blissful daze of daydreams until her time came. Despite her prior nerves, the blue-haired girl stalked out onto the stage like she owned it, arms wide in a display of power and assertiveness.

When her turn was over, and the crowd significantly wowed, Juvia flounced off to stage left, much like Cana before her.

That was where I was sure that Evergreen was turning each girl to stone. I had to give kudos to the woman; she knew how to make a plan and execute it well. I couldn't even hear a single kerfuffle from the other side of the stage that might give her away.

The plan was almost foolproof, except for one thing.

Me and my knowledge of what lay ahead.

Unbidden, a wicked grin came across my face at the thought of derailing such a large portion of Laxus' plan. Man, was he going to be _pissed._

Finally, as Bisca gave a wink and grin towards the audience before ducking offstage, my name was called by Max.

"Alright folks! That was a simply amazing display of accuracy from our very own sharpshooter, Bisca Mulan! Now, to take things in another direction, here is the lovely Lucy! Also known as the Celestial Maiden, this golden beauty will dazzle your with the power of her magic and that of her Celestial spirits! Give it up everyone!"

I could distinctly feel the blood rushing to my cheeks as I strode onto the stage, flattered by Max's announcement and his consideration of not using my last name. To seal the deal, the man shot me a hearty wink before ducking out of the way to allow me to perform.

Which, of course, wasn't going to happen.

"Thank you for that introduction, Max," I loudly said to the man as I gave a short bow towards his direction, making sure that everyone in the room could hear me. I then turned towards the audience and bowed towards them. "And thank you all for coming today; your support means a lot to us girls."

A few wolf whistles and sharp calls broke out at my words, people making noise in approval of the Fairy Tail girls.

Smiling at them, I clasped my hands in front of me. "Now, I'm sure you're all waiting for me to showcase my talent for this contest, and will happily oblige to show you why I am proud to call myself a Fairy—"

"_You_?" a sharp voice suddenly called out, the high female tone ringing throughout the room. "A _fairy? _Please, the only fairy here is _me._"

At those last words, Evergreen wandered out from the left. Her customary fan was spread out across her face, but it did nothing to hide her scornful smile, nor the wicked gleam she held in her eyes.

The eyes that were solely focused on me, razor sharp behind her glasses.

Faintly, as if from far-away, I could hear people's loud exclamations over Evergreen's appearance and how the rest of her team had to be there. I was more focused on how close Evergreen was and how I could give her a good sock in the face if only she stepped a little bit closer.

"I am the rightful winner of this contest," Evergreen continued as she stalked closer, "and I won't have a pathetic girl like you stand in my way."

As she reached for her glasses, I could hear people in the crowd begin to scream for me to look away, for Evergreen to stop, but neither of us listened.

I looked Evergreen right in the face as she grabbed her glasses and began to slide them down her pert nose.

Then I punched her right in the face.

Evergreen recoiled with a gasp and a low crunching sound, hands flying up from her glasses to grasp at her bleeding nose. She hunched over, as if to protect herself from me and the crowd's loud roars of surprise and approval.

"Oops," I said as I inspected the blood drying across my knuckles with disinterest, "I guess my fist just stood in your way."

"You…" seethed Evergreen as she straightened up, hands still at her nose. "You _broke my nose!_"

"That I did," I said simply. "It's a very soft nose, you know that? Didn't take much of an effort on my behalf to break it. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news."

With a primal screech of rage, Evergreen rushed towards me with one hand outstretched, as if to strangle me, and the other twitching towards her glasses once more.

Nimbly, I skipped out of her way and stuck a foot out as she whirled around to face me once more. With a flick of my foot, her legs were kicked out from beneath her and she went toppling backwards.

Taking the obvious opportunity, I rose my left leg in the air above her falling form before slamming it down into her diaphragm at blinding speed. This action slammed Evergreen into the stage with much more force than she had anticipated, and her mouth lolled open in a soundless choke from the impact, as well as my foot digging into her soft chest.

Retracting my leg with as much grace as I could muster – what with my leg aching from the recoil – I lowered myself to place both knees either side of Evergreen's hips as I straddled her. The position I was in was perfect to grab Evergreen's hands and tug her arms above her head to keep them away from her glasses.

Leaning into her sweating and gasping face, I gave a sharp smile, feeling the usual thrum of adrenaline pumping through my veins; it made me itch for a good fight. A fight that would risk my life and leave me bloody and haggard.

This was not one of those fights. Because, for all her magical prowess, Evergreen had only a slightly above average physical strength, which was highly outmatched by my own honed physical strength. If it came to a battle of magic and strategy, I could easily say that Evergreen would win with her diverse abilities and years of experience.

However, she was unable to use most of her magic with her hands out of the equation and our close proximity. She was trumped, and she knew it from the panic in her pain-filled eyes.

"We can stop this here," I said gently to her, "and you can release the girls I know that are under your spell. Or we can go a few rounds after I break your arms and blind you." I smiled. "Which do you chose?"

"Fuck you," Evergreen spat out. "You don't know what you're dealing with! My teammates—!"

I sighed heavily to cut her off. "Yes, you're teammates. The ones currently hiding up in the rafters. Well, I think you're teammates are being quite smart to stay away right now. I daresay Freed knows the hold I currently have on your hands allows me to quite easily break your wrists if I chose to." I gave a short twist to further my point, Evergreen giving a bitten-off shriek as I did so. "I don't think they want to risk it."

"Laxus-sama…" the girl murmured under her breath as she gazed up past me to where her teammates probably were.

Rolling my eyes, I decided that this wasn't going anywhere soon and that I really ought to finish it up before Laxus struck me down with a lightning bolt, regardless of the fact that Evergreen and I's physical contact would mean the girl would be electrocuted too.

"Release the spell," I demanded Evergreen. "I'll give you to the count of three. One…"

Behind me I could hear shouts and yells beginning to erupt as, no doubt, the Raijinshuu tribe made their appearance. I was more focused on Evergreen's angry gaze boring into me behind cracked glasses and slowly blackening eyes.

"Two…"

Evergreen sneered at me with bloody teeth as feet thumped onto the stage behind me.

"Three."

Before whoever it was that was approaching me could latch onto the back of my vest, I slammed my head as hard as I could into Evergreen's.

The impact made me see stars and made my teeth rattle in their places, but I managed to hazily see Evergreen's eyes roll backwards to show white as she slumped beneath me.

Before I could compose myself, I was snatched up from behind and left hanging in the air by the strength of the person holding me.

My clothes strangled me as I was turned around, and I clutched at them to give me some relief and air. Most of my remaining air was taken away, however, by the ferocious sight that was Laxus snarling right into my face.

"You little brat," he hissed out, broad features scrunching up in an intimidating scowl. "You're ruining my plans! Do you really think you're strong enough to go against me? Powerful enough to challenge the _true _Master of Fairy Tail?"

The deep, rumble of Laxus's words vibrated in my chest, accompanying the tiny shivers that wracked my body. I had faced many adversaries in my life, but none quite as terrifying as the young man in front of me. Even Jose, who had been one of the most despicable men I had ever met, could not compare to Laxus. Because while Jose was cruel and merciless, he at least had restraint over his anger and his actions. Laxus, on the other hand, was more than happy to let go of any restraints he had over his anger at the first sign of rebellion.

Despite my fears, however, I knew that I could not show any weakness in front of Laxus; he would destroy me in a matter of seconds otherwise.

Summoning up a smirk, I batted my eyes coyly at Laxus, choosing to ignore the way my clothes were continuing to dig into my throat. "I would say 'sorry for ruining your plans,' dear, but considering the fact that said plans would mean my friends get hurt, I'm going to have to say 'fuck you' instead. Okay?"

Laxus roared in anger in response to my catty words, his free hand rising up to slap me across my left cheek. The force snapped my head to the side and tears began to build up in my eyes in reflex of the stinging pain blooming across my cheek.

I spat at the ground, tasting blood from where the inside of my cheek had scraped across my teeth. In the background I could faintly hear someone calling out to me – _"Lucy! Luce, get out of there! Let go of her, you bastard! Why are you doing this?" _–, but I was more focused on the man before me and the words he had to say.

"Listen here, punk," Laxus growled out. "Attitude like that has no place in Fairy Tail." His head then tilted up, frigid eyes burning into the audience as he addressed them. "DO YOU HEAR THAT! I will weed out every single person who brings shame upon Fairy Tail! People like this wrench," he shook me here in emphasis, "will be cast out to never return."

Suddenly, Laxus hoisted me further up in the air before almost effortlessly tossing me out over the edge of the stage. There was nothing I could do to break my fall, and I hit the ground with a jarring thud.

* * *

**3****rd**** Person P.O.V.**

Several members of the guild who had been standing near the stage were quick to crowd the girl who had been unceremoniously tossed within their midst. Their hands were strong and firm as they lifted her to her feet, concern and anger clashing across their face at her dazed expression.

"That hurt…" Lucy said numbly as she touched a hand to the back of her head, her fingers coming away with soft smears of blood on them. "Oh."

Luckily Astoria was right beside the girl, and she was quick to usher her away from where Laxus was announcing the 'Battle of Fairy Tail.' The woman continued to pull the girl through the churning crowd to where her friends were – a small pack consisting of Elfman, Gray, Natsu, Ryos, Sting and the two exceeds –, silently handing her over to a concerned and enraged Gray who gripped the girl's arms tightly.

"You reckless idiot," he muttered as he sat her down between a wide-eyed Ryos and Sting, attention split between keeping an eye on Lucy's clouded eyes and also listening to Laxus's speech. "Why would you do such a thing?"

At those words, a dopey but triumphant smile came across Lucy's face as she pointed back up at the stage. "Because of _that._"

Almost as if on cue, a huge wave of water crashed out from the curtains behind the stage, surprising almost everyone. The mass of water washed away Evergreen's body as it thundered towards the remaining Raijinshuu, who, judging by their surprised expressions, weren't expecting such an attack.

However, the Raijinshuu weren't such renowned mages for nothing, and the three males were able to leap out of the way and safely into the rafters above; leaving their female teammate to be sucked back towards the source of the attack.

Evergreen rolled to a stop by a pair of booted feet, her body limp and glistening in the muted lights of the hall. Juvia examined the girl at her feet for a moment – just to check if any water had gotten into her lungs – before she turned her heated gaze towards the other members of the Raijinshuu.

And she wasn't the only female with hate in her eyes and revenge on her mind.

Bracketing her on both sides was the newly resurrected girls; their stances poised and ready for battle, magic already humming at their fingertips.

On Juvia's left stood Erza, hip cocked, eyebrows furrowed and sword in hand, still in her Lolita suit from her performance. Her teeth shone as she spoke, each word snapping from her lips to visibly strike at her current enemies. "You think that you can have a contest without a prize? Well! Since your 'prizes' have just been cured, there is no point to this battle!"

Her sword swung up, point deadly accurate as she directed at Laxus. "Give up now, or face the wrath of Fairy Tail!"

There was an answering cry to her words from the audience, even Natsu mustering up enough anger at Laxus to snap and snarl at him. But such words and actions had no effect on the Lightning dDragon sSlayer.

Instead, much to the crowds surprise, his face split in a wide, almost manic grin. Eyes near-bulging from their sockets, Laxus powered on to begin to explain how, if he wasn't named Master of Fairy Tail in the next hour, he would destroy the entire town with Thunder Palace.

"He wouldn't!" Elfman cried out, initial relief at seeing his sister safe washed away by those words. "Such magic is illegal and immoral; it's entirely unmanly!"

"He's bluffing," Natsu managed to laugh out. "He's gotta be! He's a Fairy Tail mage, why would he want to do this!"

Ryos clutched at one of Lucy's hands, dark eyes trained on Laxus's feral expression. He had seen the same manic look in Jose's eyes as he had talked about beating Fairy Tail and any other guild that would claim to be better than Phantom Lord. It was a mixture of ego, fear and inferiority complex. The stress of not living up to expectations, of not being strong enough…It was enough to break men like Laxus; Ryos had seen it happen to many of his old guildmates.

He did not voice his musings out loud, however, knowing that no matter what he said to Natsu, it wouldn't matter. Natsu would only change his mind if he sees the horrors that Laxus was capable of. Words and threats would do nothing to change Natsu's mind; he would brush it off as Laxus playing around. But if the older Sslayer used his power to do wicked against his fellow guildmates, it would be more than enough for Natsu to turn against him and fight him with all of his might.

Which, really, was the kind of thing this situation needed right now.

In a crash of lightning, Laxus, Freed and Bickslow abruptly disappeared from the hall, avoiding the questions and accusations thrown at them. They left behind a stunned crowd of mages, all unsure of how to proceed from this point of their lives.

Their beloved Fairy Tail girls were all alive and well, but now they had an hour to stop Laxus from activating Thunder Palace by either defeating all of the Raijinshuu, or if their Master gave up his position to his grandson. The latter was out of the question, but the former was a daunting task.

According to Freed, he had placed traps across the city that would pit members against each other during their quest to find any of the Raijinshuu members. Not only that, but the idea of roaming the entirety of Magnolia – which was not a small town by any means – in search of three people was a disheartening thought that clearly reflected in everyone's downtrodden faces.

That just wouldn't cut it for Lucy – she had not nearly been beaten to a pulp by Laxus to change absolutely nothing.

Gently prying Ryos and Sting's hands off of her, Lucy stood up with a soft sway. Her posture was sure and strong though as she marched towards where Makarov was trying to catch his breath after the startling revelation that his grandson wished harm against his own guild. Mirajane was crouched by the man, trying her best to comfort him, but judging by Makarov's rapidly paling skin it wasn't working.

"Take him to the infirmary to recover," Lucy said quietly to Mirajane once she reached them. "Get him his medicine and send someone out to reach Porlyusica."

"Right," Mirajane said as she gently picked up the older mage. "Will you be alright though, Lucy? You hit your head badly, you might need to rest." Her blue eyes were fixed on Lucy's gently swelling cheek and bloody lips as she said this, her arms softly cradling the sweating and moaning Makarov.

In response to Mirajane's concern, Lucy managed a small smile that cracked and peeled the blood plastered on her lips. "I'll be fine, Mira. Just make sure Master is okay, and grab someone to guard him. I'm sure Laxus won't attack Master while he is so ill, but I don't want to take any chances."

Mirajane gave a short nod. "I'll do that now, Lucy. Just make sure you take care of yourself." With that, the white-haired girl hurried off to the infirmary, Laki and Max falling into step behind her at her prompting.

"Now that that's covered…" Lucy muttered to herself before turning to the pandemonium that was erupting around her.

People were shouting over each other to get their plans and opinions heard, their panic only fuelled by the countdown clock that had appeared in glowing script by the doorway. No one had noticed the additional runes that lined the only door outside, and Lucy could only twist her lips at the symbols that would prevent the Dragon Slayers from getting out to help.

Sighing to herself, Lucy made her way back to where her friends were, Natsu being the only one out of the group to be making a racket. Elfman was busy pondering over something to himself, Ryos and Sting were sitting wide-eyes and slightly scared beside Lector, and Gray was now chatting intently with a furious-looking Erza.

"Hey," Lucy said to Gray, prompting the mage to break of his conversation with Erza to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, what's up?"

As Lucy clambered up onto the table behind Ryos, she continued to speak calmly to the Ice mage. "Mind giving me a wolf whistle to catch everyone's attention? I would do it, but my whistling skills aren't up to par with yours."

Obligingly, Gray pressed his fingers to his lips and shot off a sharp whistle, catching everyone's attention. From there, Lucy took charge once more, hands on her hips and gaze stern as she looked across the crowd in front of her.

"Alright, listen up!" she shouted out, making sure her voice could be heard by everyone in the room. "I know that we've got a bad situation on our hands, but we've got to keep a level head about this."

"Laxus just threatened to blow up the town!" a mage yelled out, anger obviously evident in his voice. "How the hell can we stay calm about this?"

Those words prompted Natsu to leap up beside Lucy, regardless of the way the motion made the remaining Etherion slosh about in his stomach in a sickening way. "Laxus won't do it! He's a Fairy Tail mage, and we don't hurt our nakama!"

"Sure looks like that's what he's doing!" the man shouted back in reply, his words creating a ripple of agreeing murmurs in the crowd.

Before Natsu could begin to argue back with the man, Lucy held up her hand to quieten the Fire Slayer. She shot a stern look at Natsu's offended expression before smoothing it out and turning back to the crowd to wrestle back control.

"I do realise the situation we're in," Lucy said gently, voice rolling out to smooth out the frazzled edges of the crowd. "But standing around and arguing with each other isn't going to help. We've got fifty minutes to fix this situation, and yelling at each other isn't going to find Laxus and put an end to this.

"We need to split up across the city to find the members of the Raijinshuu before time runs out. Make sure that you avoid as many traps as you can, and if you get caught in one, use your smarts to find a loophole in Freed's runes; you're all smart enough to do so. While you do this, though, please try your best to evacuate citizens from the city in the calmest way possible."

Several people in the crowd began to nod along to the words being spouted off by Lucy, tension easing from their outlines as they were given a purpose. Almost instantly they began to find their teammates, banding together to prepare themselves for the challenge that lay ahead.

"Prepare yourselves!" Lucy bellowed out as the mages turned their determined expressions to the open doorway. "This will be a challenge like nothing you've ever faced before! This is your own nakama who you're facing, so be prepared to harden your heart! Fly straight and true, and make sure that you don't recklessly attack the lacrima; I'm sure Freed has prepared a surprise for those who think they can cheat the rules. Now," she raised her arms up, bracketing her nakama with the slender appendages, "go forth and bring pride to the name of Fairy Tail!"

A roar of approval came from the crowd, and they surged forwards to rush out of the doorway to spill out onto the streets. The next hour would be one full of tension and betrayal as nakama were pitted against each other due to Freed's traps, but Fairy Tail would continue to fight, regardless.

"Take control there, would ya?" Gray snorted to Lucy when she clambered down from her post, hands grasping her arm to help her down. "Are you going to direct us now, fearless leader?"

"Shut up, Gray," Lucy said with a trace of humour in her voice. She then turned away from the male to put her arms around her two boys and talking cat, hands soft and caring. "Are you two alright?"

"You kicked ass, Lucy-nee!" Sting yelped out before Ryos could ask about his honorary sister's health. "How could I not be alright? Oh man, I'm so pumped up to fight now!"

Natsu landed with a thump beside the small blond, usual grin in place as he fistbumped the boy. "Hell yeah! We're going to kick Laxus's ass and snap him out of whatever delusions he's in!"

When Sting began to cheer alongside him, the two boys already beginning to make their way towards the entrance of the guild, it took all of Lucy's self-control to not sweep Sting up in a hug and never let him go. He was only a small boy – no older than seven or eight, really – and the idea of him being out there in the chaos, facing up against men like Laxus was enough to make Lucy feel ill.

The only thing that kept her from snatching up Ryos, Sting and Lector and taking them far away was the knowledge of the men they would become in time. Rogue and Sting were one of the most powerful mages Sabertooth had ever seen, and that came through experience and training. Lucy couldn't coddle her boys and shy them away from battle; that would limit the abilities and power that they had when they grew into the fine young men she had seen in the manga and anime.

Although it hurt her heart to see boys younger than her little sister – god, Maya, how long had it been since she had seen her? – go into battle, she knew that it was practically their destiny. She had no say in their life choices, really. She could only help keep them safe without smothering them, and make sure they grew up strong and healthy.

"Alright!" Erza suddenly said, snapping Lucy out of her thoughts. "We'll head out together. We'll head towards the east and sweep our way back from there. That way we should be able to comb the entire area thoroughly."

When no complaints were brought up, the team consisting of Erza, Gray, Natsu, Elfman, Lucy, Ryos, Sting, Happy and Lector rushed for the entrance…

Only for the Dragon Slayers to slam into a barrier of runes, pained expressions written on their faces.

The four mages and cats who had made it through turned back to gape at their companions – well, Lucy tried her hardest to hold back a laugh at their squished faces – unsure of what just happened.

Luckily, Levy had stayed back to bid farewell to Jet – who Mirajane had entrusted the task to grab Porlyusica – and to chain an unconscious Evergreen to one of the foundation poles of the hall.

The gleaming words of 'shackle' wrapped around the woman's arms and kept her against the pole in a slumped sitting position. Levy had just finished up the task when Natsu and Sting's enraged shouts brought her attention to the rune barrier that held the Dragon Slayers within the guild.

Quickly, the small girl hurried over, her stylus already poised and ready to fix the problem. "I can solve this for you guys!"

The collected groups' attention snapped towards the petite girl who came to a skidding stop in front of the barrier, eyes already blazing trails across the runes and words written there. Before anyone had a chance to speak their relief at seeing the girl, Levy was already rattling off information.

"It says here that 'no one over the age of eighty may cross from this point.' It's bound by runes that I haven't seen before, I might have to—"

"Eighty years?" Natsu suddenly screeched, hands slamming against the barrier. "I'm not eighty years old!"

"Me neither!" Sting shouted out before he turned a horrified look towards a stunned Ryos beside him. "Unless I really am eighty? I don't know when my birthday is! Maybe I really am eighty in a good looking body?"

"Maybe we're immortal," Ryos whispered dazedly, eyes staring sightlessly at runes in front of him.

To the background sound of Gray teasing Natsu about his age across the barrier without fear of retaliation, and Lucy assuring Ryos that he wasn't immortal – _"you're just a cute, little boy, Ryos-kin, I swear!"_ – Levy dropped to her knees and began pondering the trails of runes on the floor. As she did so, she began to address the group of mages lingering in the doorway.

"You guys should head off now. Mages as strong as yourselves shouldn't be limiting yourselves to such a small problem when we have…" she glanced at the timer, "forty-six minutes to go."

"But I want to fight!" Natsu protested, slamming himself against the barrier again. "I need to defeat Laxus!"

"And you will," soothed Levy as she brought out her glasses and mentally ran over what books she would need to solve the puzzle before her. "But first I need to solve this, and it would be pointless for people like Erza to be standing around here when she could be kicking Freed's butt out there."

"Well said," Lucy murmured under her breath. "I completely agree, Levy-chan. We'll head out now if Juvia joins us." The blonde nodded towards the blue-haired girl who had been hovering nearby, no doubt looking out for Gajeel. "Juvia would be a welcome addition to the party, especially if I go ahead and evacuate civilians."

At her friend's confused looks, the blonde explained her thought process. "I don't want to fight, and if I partner up with Happy and take to the skies, I would easily be able to spot civilians. I then could summon my spirits to get them out of tricky situations."

Although Erza was confused by her friend's wish to remain out of battle, she respected the logical choice she had made. "Of course, we would be happy to have Juvia with us." With a sharp jerk of her head the redhead beckoned the Water mage over, despite the girl's stammers about Gajeel and his whereabouts.

"Gajeel will probably be stuck here with Natsu, Ryos and Sting if the pattern continues," Elfman said to reassure Juvia. "He will be fine here, even if he is cooped up in an unmanly manner."

Juvia cast one last hesitant look towards the guild before her expression hardened and she nodded. Falling into place, Juvia nodded her farewell to the people left behind as she followed Erza's lead into the streets.

As Lucy watched them go – repressing a smile at the way Gray stuck his tongue out at Natsu before they darted out of sight, much to the Fire Dragon Slayer's anger – she felt Happy press himself against her leg.

Glancing down at the cat, Lucy managed to smile at him. "You ready to partner up with me?"

Happy cast a glance back at Natsu, who was now calm enough to give him a grumpy thumbs up, before looking back at Lucy was a smile of his own. "Aye, sir! Let's go!"

With one last wave and a promise to stay safe to her boys and Lector, Lucy let Happy pick her up as he sprouted wings and shot off into the sky, his tiny paws grasping at Lucy's vest.

"Please let this be easy…" Lucy murmured to herself as she faced the challenge ahead with worry in her eyes and her teeth chewing at her lip.

Above her, Happy could only silently pray alongside her.

* * *

**Holy shit, this has to be one of the worst chapters I've ever done for this story. Not only did it take, like, two weeks to write this, but it felt so stale and boring.**

**I'M SO SORRY!**

**The next part will hopefully be better. I was just really rushing through this so that I can get to Lucy **_**absolutely smashing **_**Bickslow into the ground.**

**This whole arc is just a lot of retelling, which is why it felt so rushed. I just wanna really show parts where Lucy kicks arse, but I know that I just can't do that. Fuck.**

**I'm sorry again.**


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